A Simple Knock
by Maetel
Summary: When Usagi is injured in a battle which damages her broach, things start to spiral out of her control. Feel free to read "Already Met You" the sequel which is already in the works.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people start reading.  
Chapters: 16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
Size:   
  
"Aieeeeeeeee!" screamed Sailor Moon as she went flying back from the explosion caused by the combination of Sailor Mars and Jupiter's attacks causing the youma of the day to explode. She was suddenly stopped by the wall of a nearby building.   
  
"Sailor Moon!" exclaimed Sailor Mercury as she ran over to her friend, who had dehenshined. "Usagi-chan, daijobou?" The blue haired senshi waited for the blonde to reply. "Sailor Moon, can you hear me?"  
  
"Mercury, is Sailor Moon all right?" questioned Jupiter as she and Mars knelt near the two. Mars wondered why the blonde had been forced into civilian form until she saw the broach her friend wore. She was about to point it out, but she heard a nervous sound emerge from her friend's throat.  
  
"She was knocked unconscious when she hit the wall... We- We need to make sure that she doesn't have a concussion. We need to wake her up in case she does; otherwise... Otherwise... We need to wake her up."  
  
"Have you tried shaking her?" questioned the senshi of flames. "Or Luna says that it usually takes her clawing or biting Usagi to wake her up."  
  
"We could try causing a reaction that would cause her system to... Jupiter, I know that you just received your powers, but how well can you control electricity?"  
  
"I'm not sure... I haven't really had the chance to try and control it," the brunette admitted.  
  
"Hmm..." sounded Mercury before she took a deep breath. "Could you try and control it enough to send a small surge of electricity through Usagi-chan. Sort of like doctors do to heart patients, but not as much energy. Just enough to wake her up."  
  
"I can try... I just hope I can control this well enough..." the tall senshi said as she took one of the blonde's hands in her own and focused her power enough to send a small bolt of electricity through her.   
  
The three senshi heard a soft groan escape the girl as her pale blue eyes fluttered open.   
  
"Are you all right?" questioned Mars softly.  
  
"Hai, well I think so anyways. What happened?" questioned the blonde softly as she looked around at the faces of the three, her features marred by confusion before blinking the expression away. "Mercury, Mars, Jupiter? Why do you all look so worried?"  
  
"You were sent flying into a wall by an explosion a couple of minutes ago," stated Mars simply despite the worry in her voice.  
  
"Minna-chan, I think that we should get out of here before people start showing up and asking questions," Jupiter advised as she heard the sounds of people coming from different directions. "Good thing for sleepovers, ne?"  
  
Mercury and Mars nodded as they stood, helping Usagi regain her balance.   
  
"Do you think you can make it back to my place, or do you need one of us to help you?" questioned Mars.   
  
"I think I might need a little help... My head is pounding , and my legs feel as though they can barely hold me up," admitted the shorter girl as she lifted a hand to her head. Her thoughts were quickly growing more and more unfocused, and only one being came to mind as Jupiter knelt down facing away from her. "Wh-Where is Luna?"  
  
"She's back at my apartment. Rei-chan sensed the attack, and none of us had the heart to wake up the poor neko, so, we let her sleep," Jupiter replied. "Now hop on. We're lucky I do not live far from here."  
  
"Lucky cat... A-Arigato, Mako-chan" said Usagi as she climbed onto the Amazonian senshi's back.  
  
"Are you sure that you are all right, Usagi-chan?" inquired Jupiter as she felt the blonde almost go limp.  
  
"Hai, I just have a feeling that Mercury should check me out when we get back with the Mercury computer, just to see if I am all right. Then I think I'll be sleeping for a while," stated the young woman with a yawn.   
  
"All right. Just please try to stay awake on the way back. I am still not sure if you have a concussion or not, and the computer and my visor should let me know for sure," stated Mercury.  
  
"Very well, just can we please hurry. I was having such a nice dream before the attack," Usagi stated.  
  
"All right," Mercury agreed. Makoto then started back towards her apartment with Mercury following a moment later.   
  
"Mercury," called out Mars. "We need to talk to Luna as soon as possible."  
  
"So you noticed the crack in Usagi's broach as well? I was hoping that it was fatigue playing tricks on my eyes," stated the blue haired senshi.   
  
"That is not the only reason I think we need to talk to her. I felt something odd about Usagi-chan's energy. It was changing. It was very slight, but I know I felt something very different about her."  
  
"That could have something to do with her broach. Let the two sleep tonight, and we can talk about it with Luna when we wake up. Until then, we should keep Usagi from worrying. She'll find out when she wakes up, and right now I am more concerned with her head than her broach," Mercury stated with a tired sigh. "Anyways, we had better catch up."  
  
Mars nodded before the two broke into a run to catch up with Jupiter. The black haired senshi noticed her blonde friend staring out with a distant look in her eyes. "Usagi-chan, are you sure that you are all right?"  
  
The young woman looked over at Mars and sighed. "I think so... Just my head is really starting to hurt, and I'm just feeling really weird. I think I might actually have a concussing."  
  
"Concussion, Usagi-chan," corrected Jupiter as they finally reached the top of her building. Luckily she only live three floors down, so the climb down the fire escape was relatively short compared to the walk from the battle scene.  
  
"Right," Usagi muttered as the brunette helped her in through the window. The blonde walked over to a chair and sat down.   
  
Mercury entered the room after Jupiter and crossed the room to stand in kneel of her injured friend. Pulling her mini-computer from her subspace pocket, Mercury activated her visor and scanned her friend for any sign of a concussion or any other injury. The blue haired girl's brow scrunched in thought as she saw that her friend wasn't suffering from a concussion, but was instead giving off two different sets of thought patterns. While one was very weak, it appeared to be stable.  
  
'Has she always been like that?' thought Mercury. 'I suppose it could have to do with her being Sailor Moon, but why didn't I notice it before?'  
  
"So how is she, Ami-chan?" inquired Makoto, who had powered down after climbing in through the window.   
  
"Oh! She's fine... The fatigue must simply be due to having been asleep for so long before the battle. We all know how Usagi-chan likes to sleep," she replied.  
  
The brunette giggled softly when said blonde muttered a slurred, "I heard that..."   
  
"So she'll be all right?" questioned Rei as she allowed her henshin to fade in a blaze of fire.  
  
Mercury nodded as she too powered down. "I think we should all get some sleep. We still need to talk to Luna in the morning about the issue concerning Usagi's broach."  
  
"What happened to it?" inquired Makoto.  
  
"I'll explain it, Ami-chan. You just go to sleep." The blue haired girl nodded and headed into Makoto's room, where her sleeping bag was.  
  
"It was cracked in the explosion. It wasn't a very large crack," stated the dark haired girl. "We don't know if it will affect Usagi's ability to henshin, so we need to talk to Luna when she wakes up... Well, when we wake up."  
  
"I guess I was far enough away to no notice it," the taller girl admitted.  
  
"Well, let's just get some sleep ok?" suggested Rei. "I'll stay in here and make sure that Usagi is all right if she wakes up."  
  
Makoto nodded and looked over towards her room where she could hear Ami's soft snores coming through. She then told Rei to get them if there was anything strange happening to Usagi before going into her room and falling asleep a few minutes later.   
  
Rei laid down on the couch and looked over at her blonde friend. She softly whispered, "Sleep well, Usagi-chan."  
  
The dark haired girl then allowed herself to drift off to sleep.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 2/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
When Rei woke up, she looked over to the chair where Usagi had been sleeping and saw that she was no longer there.  
  
"Usagi-chan?" called out the miko in training as she rose from where she had been laying and into the kitchen. When she did not find the blonde in there or the dining room she searched over the other rooms of the small apartment without finding her.  
  
"Kami-sama... Where is she?" whimpered the dark haired girl softly. She then figured that Usagi might have gone into Makoto's room. Rei thought for a moment before sighing, "That has to be it."  
  
Walking up to the door, she rapped softly on the wood. A moment later, a tired looking Ami opened the door.  
  
"Rei-chan?" said the blue haired girl confusedly as she looked at her friend. "You're up..." She looked down at her watch to see that the time had just turned 7, "...early. Is there something the matter? Is Usagi-chan all right?"  
  
"You mean she isn't in there?" The dark haired girl felt as if she had just been struck in the chest. "Oh, no..."  
  
"Rei-chan, what's wrong?" questioned Makoto as she walked up behind Ami with Luna, who looked strangely alert, on her shoulder.  
  
"It's Usagi-chan... I woke up a couple of minutes ago, and... And she wasn't in there. I looked everywhere in the apartment I could think of, but she isn't here."  
  
"Do you think something happened to her while we were sleeping? Because of the broach?" Makoto asked, worry lacing her voice at the thought of something happening to the happy blonde.  
  
"Wait, something happened to Usagi's broach?" exclaimed Luna.  
  
"Yes, last night, there was a battle and her broach was cracked in an explosion caused by the youma being destroyed," Ami explained as she pulled her mini computer out of her subspace pocket and started typing. "Oh no..."  
  
"What is it, Ami-chan?" asked Luna.  
  
"I can't locate Usagi-chan... It is like she isn't in Tokyo, or anywhere, anymore..." the blue haired girl murmured fearfully. "We need to find her before something happens."  
  
"Ami-chan is right. Girls, henshin and go out and search for her," Luna ordered as she jumped from Makoto's shoulder.   
  
"Mmm..." nodded the three girls in agreement.   
  
"Mercury power, make up!"  
"Mars power, make up!"  
"Jupiter power, make up!"  
  
In a rush of water, blaze of fire, and bolt of lightening, the three girls were replaced by the Sailor Senshi. A moment later, the three girls and feline were out of the window and heading out into the city.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Across town, Mamoru was slowly being driven crazy. Every few seconds, he felt a sensation akin to that before a battle rip through him before disappearing. Instead of the fear and trepidation that he knew came from Sailor Moon, he sensed a strong feeling of confusion and being lost. He had been feeling it on and off all night, unable to sleep.  
  
At about six thirty that morning, he had finally given up on sleep and decided to just walk around for a while. He had quickly dressed, donning the usual faded blue jeans, long sleeved black shirt, and familiar green jacket he wore almost every other day.  
  
He left his building around six forty-five, knowing that the arcade would not open for another fifteen minutes. A smile crossed the dark haired man's face as he simply enjoyed the quiet of his surroundings. No cars with horns blaring. No clacks of people walking. No Odango Atama causing him to fall onto the ground.   
  
It was going to be a good day. That is until he saw a pair of familiar looking golden buns on top of a girl who was still dressed in her pajamas, which, he noticed, completely fit her name. He wondered just what she was doing. She appeared to be turning around before she fell to her knees.  
  
"What in the world?" he muttered before calling out.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
When the blonde woke, she found herself in surroundings that were vaguely familiar at best. The first thing she saw was a something glowing which read, "6:24." She sat up in the chair and looked down to see her protector on the ground, seemingly dead to the world.   
  
"Mars?" she breathed fearfully. When the blonde received no response, she whimpered softly. She silently rose from where she was sitting, using the natural grace which seemed to no longer come to her body as it once had, to silently pace the facility in which she was being held. Finding many doors which led to dead ends and the other senshi, who were also unresponsive to her calls, the young woman finally found a door which led to a corridor.   
  
Following the corridor, the short teenager saw two options which could possibly lead to escape. One she recognized as a device used to move cargo up to the higher levels of the building. The other, a door way propped open, revealing a staircase.  
  
Not wanting anyone seeing her in such odd attire, thick blue material decorated with pictures of white creatures with long ears, the girl chose the stairs. She raced down the stairs until she reached another door way marked with "1/Ground." She stepped into the room connected to the stairwell by a short corridor, and then she saw her means of escape.   
  
Looking around, the blonde saw that there was no one in the room and raced towards the double doors. She sped through the door as a tall man dressed in a strange red coat with gold lining, and matching hat stepped through.  
  
"Miss!" he called as she hurried away from the building. Grumbling about teenagers lack of respect, the man simply shrugged off the thought about the strange girl, and resumed his post.   
  
The blonde raced through out the city, tears forming in her eyes at the sights of unfamiliar buildings and no people. She stopped finally, when she felt her lungs were about to explode. The young blonde felt a strangely familiar presence a short distance behind her, but her legs had finally given out before she turned to see just whose presence it was.  
  
"Daijobu-"  
  
'That voice,' she thought almost in relief. 'Endy-'  
  
"Odango Atama?"  
  
Mamoru noticed how the girl jumped and spun around to glare at him before confusion washed over her features.   
  
"Odango, Daijobu?" he asked as he walked over and knelt in front of her.   
  
"I- I'm fine..." she muttered as she looked down at herself to see that she was still in her pajamas her feet were killing her, feeling so raw and beaten that she knew that they had to be bleeding at least a little bit. 'How did I get here? Last thing I remember is falling asleep in Mako-chan's chair...'  
  
"Are you sure, odango? You seem kind of... well... disoriented," he inquired.  
  
"Hai! And my name is Usagi, Mamo-baka! I am not disoriented! I know exactly where I am and what I am doing!"  
  
"Then would you mind explaining just why you are awake at..." He looked down at his watch, "six fifty-seven in the morning on a Sunday, collapsed on a sidewalk, in your pajamas nonetheless?"  
  
"I was- I... I don't really know..." she admitted softly. "But why should you care? All you are going to do is pick on me anyway."  
  
"Considering how it is barely above fifty degrees and those pajamas don't look very warm, I am concerned. You could get sick. Considering how no one is out right now except for those who are looking to cause trouble or just like to get up early for no reason , you could be putting yourself in danger. The sun is barely up, and you are a teenage girl, walking the street. That isn't the smartest thing to be doing," Mamoru admonished, his lack of sleep causing him to be the slightest bit on edge, and the young girl's actions were simply making him worry. "What could you possibly doing out this time of the morning?!"  
  
"I told you I don't know why I am out right now. I fell asleep last night in Mako-chan's apartment and the next thing I know, I am here!" she exclaimed as she realized that he was right.  
  
"Wait... Doesn't she live almost an hour away on foot?" he asked in disbelief as he recalled the time Motoki had told him about going to her place for a cooking lesson. "You have no idea what you have been doing for an hour?"  
  
"I think I might have been running," Usagi admitted as she moved her left foot and saw a small blood spot on the ground where her foot had been sitting.   
  
"Kami-sama... Odango... Let's get you to the arcade and see if Motoki has something to wrap your feet up," Mamoru sighed softly as he carefully slipped his arms under her and picked up the small blonde.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked nervously.   
  
"Well, I doubt you want those feet of yours getting any worse than what they already are," the dark haired man stated. "Look, I promise I'll be nice until your feet are taken care of, and we let you friend know where you are. All right?"  
  
Usagi thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Arigato, Mamoru-san."  
  
She sighed as she thought back, trying to figure out just what had happened. 'Could it have something to do with bumping my head last night during the battle? Ami-chan said I was fine, but what if I'm not?' She rested her head on his shoulder. She felt safe, happy, and warm. The young woman was still scared that something had happened to her, but she was also fighting back the feeling she had while in his arms. 'I swear I am going crazy. This feeling is like that I get with Tuxedo Kamen.'  
  
Mamoru noticed the constantly changing looks on the blonde's face. He wasn't sure what to do, but it was at that moment that he noticed the feelings he had been sensing before had faded. He simply put it in the back of his mind, placing the welfare of his arch-enemy first. If anything happened to her, who would he fight with every morning?  
  
"That and you wouldn't have a girl with a nice body lying on top of you every morning," he heard a voice in his head tease.  
  
"Urusei," he muttered aloud.  
  
"Nani? I wasn't saying anything!" Usagi exclaimed.   
  
"Gomen ne, O- Usagi-chan. I was telling the voice in my head to shut up," he said as he walked up to the doors of the arcade and entered the establishment.   
  
"I was wondering which one of the two that are supposed to be out at this time of the morning you were," she quipped earning a mock glare from the upperclassman.  
  
"Watch it, or I could start calling you-"  
  
"Don't you dare!" Usagi ordered as she lightly jabbed Mamoru's lightly muscled chest with her finger.   
  
Motoki heard someone walk into the arcade from the back room and walked into the main area to see two familiar faces he wasn't expecting to see.  
  
"I guess you two really do spend every waking hour arguing with each other," he joked before he saw what the younger of the two was wearing. "Mamoru-kun, did you kidnap Usagi-chan?"  
  
"No..." Usagi admitted softly. "I ended up running from Mako-chan's apartment most of the way here."  
  
Motoki raised an eyebrow. "Mind if I ask why?"  
  
"Can we deal with that later, Motoki-kun? Right now, I think her feet need to be taken care of" Mamoru interjected, saving Usagi from having to explain just what she didn't know exactly herself. She shot him a grateful smile, followed by a wince when Motoki walked over and inspected her foot.  
  
"Motoki-nii-chan, could you not make my foot move through the air so quickly. That kinda hurts!" Usagi snapped, the supposed anger quickly belied by the yawn which escaped her mouth.   
  
"Gomen ne, Usagi-chan," apologized the blonde haired young man. "Mamoru-kun, you can take her in the back room. There is a first aid kit in there with bandages, ointments, and whatever else I think you might need."  
  
"Arigato, Motoki-kun," his friend replied with a small nod before carrying the blonde into the back room. Once in, he saw a chair with a small crate in front of it. He gently set the young woman in the chair before crossing the room to a sink and the first aid kit. Wetting a paper towel, he walked back over to Usagi and sat on the crate, placing her feet on his lap.  
  
Mamoru gently dabbed at her feet, giving her apologetic looks whenever she flinched or whimpered in pain. After making sure that they were cleaned, he gently applied ointment and bandaged her feet, carefully wrapping them so not to cause her any more pain.   
  
"How does that feel?" the dark haired man questioned.  
  
"They feel better," she admitted gratefully before yawning. Usagi looked like she could barely stay awake, and by just looking at her, Mamoru could feel himself wanting to fall asleep.   
  
"That's good," Mamoru said. "I'll see if Motoki called your friend. If you want, I am pretty sure that Motoki will let me use his car to drive you there."  
  
"I am pretty sure that everyone is still asleep. Well... Everyone but Rei-chan. She is usually awake at dawn..."  
  
"Meaning that if she is awake, she noticed that you were missing and probably woke up your friends," he reasoned. "Meaning that Motoki probably called them and let them-"  
  
"Actually there was no answer," the blonde man stated as he walked into the room. "I tried twice, and no response. They might still be asleep. I'll try calling them again in a little while."  
  
Usagi sighed as her eyes took on a sad look. "Arigato, Motoki-nii-chan... Anno... Do you mind if I just stay back here for a while? I didn't fall asleep until really early this morning, so I am just ready to pass out."  
  
"Go ahead, Usagi-chan," the light haired man said. "Mamoru or I-"  
  
"Actually, I was wondering if you would let me use your car to drive her back to her friend's place once you get in touch with her," Mamoru asked.   
  
"Yeah, I guess so. I'll let you know if I get in touch with one of them," Motoki replied before walking out of the room when he heard the ring of someone coming in.  
  
Mamoru sighed tiredly as he looked at the blonde whose eyes were already closed. Breath had already grown even and a soft snore escaped her. He chuckled softly as he saw her curl up in the chair, her feet hanging off the seat.   
  
Looking around, Mamoru noticed that Motoki had a couch put in the room. Slowly, he walked over and flopped down, smiling to himself because of just how comfortable the couch was. A few minutes later, he was lost in the land of nod.  
  
Almost half an hour had passed before Motoki walked into the back room with Makoto.  
  
"Are they all right?" questioned the brunette.   
  
"I am pretty sure that they are going to be all right. You can call your friends if you want and let them know that you found Usagi-chan. Mamoru was going to drive her back to your apartment after one of us got in touch with you. I'm sure that he'll still do it when he wakes up, whenever that is..." Motoki offered.  
  
"Arigato, Furuhata-kun," she replied.   
  
"Sure, now how about something on the house. Since you look like you've been running around a while," the blonde said earning a nod and a small thanks from the girl.   
  



	3. Chapter 3

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 3/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
The sound of Mamoru calling out drug Usagi from her slumber. She blinked away the sleep from her eyes and carefully walked over to him. She watched him silently for a few moments, attempting to ignore the painful throbbing in the back of her head where she had struck it in the battle the night before.   
  
"Itai," she whimpered softly as her recent shoeless dash was being relived in her mind as she walked. The blonde finally made it over to the chair Mamoru was in and knelt in front of him. She lightly placed a hand on his forearm and shook gently. "Mamo-ba- Mamoru-san?"  
  
"No, please don't go..." he muttered softly.   
  
'He's dreaming... About someone leaving him... I think... I wonder who he's dreaming about?' Usagi pondered. With a quiet sigh, she gently shook his arm. She looked up and saw that his face was growing almost fearful... Not in a way that she had seen people look during a youma attack, but like a scared little boy lost and looking for his parents.   
  
"No," she heard him repeat as she felt the previous night's wound become too much to bear. She felt her hold finally slip as the word, "Serenity," escaped his lips.   
  
Mamoru suddenly shot up from where he was laying on the couch and saw Usagi slumped over, one hand to her temple, the other on his arm, lightly clutching.  
  
"Daijobou?" he asked softly causing her to look up in surprise. A small smile graced her features as she nodded.   
  
Something was different about her. Something... Something he couldn't place exactly. Maybe it was because of the fact that she was so close and smiling instead of arguing or in pain. Maybe it was the way he noticed her silver eyes shone in the light- Then it hit him... 'Wait a minute. She has blue eyes doesn't she?'  
  
"Perhaps I should be inquiring as to how you are feeling?" she said a moment later after she studied him quietly.  
  
"I'm fine... Just thinking," he assured her as he carefully pulled her up onto the couch. "By the way, how do your feet feel?"  
  
She blinked before the slight stinging coming from the balls of her feet finally registered. She looked down at her bandaged appendages and cocked her head to the side in confusion. "How did that happen?"  
  
"I found you a few blocks away from here. You had been running barefoot for a pretty good amount of time I'm guessing. Don't you remember?"   
  
He watched her brow scrunch in an attempt to remember before she finally lowered her head. "I can't seem to recall any of what you have just told me. It makes sense, but I just do not remember running from anywhere."  
  
"Don't tell me you've had another memory lapse?" Mamoru sighed as he lifted her face to look at her eyes. "Usagi-" He almost jumped when he saw her silver eyes flicker from the color they were to the blue he more commonly recognized. "Doushite..."  
  
"Nani?" she asked as she lifted her head to look at him without his hand for support. "Mamoru-san, daijobou?"  
  
"Hai, demo, Usagi-chan, do your eyes usually do that?"  
  
"Do what?" she replied.   
  
"Change color?" He saw her expression become thoughtful. 'The senshi have said that my eyes look different after a battle, but I can't tell him that.' "Not normally. I've been told that maybe when I am really exhausted or stressed they look different, but I never noticed."  
  
"Well, that explains it," he murmured. "Anyways, as I was going to ask, have you had any recent blows to the head?"  
  
Usagi blinked. 'How in the... Why is he asking about head injuries?' Shaking her head, she answered, "I- Iie..."  
  
"You're a bad liar, you know?" he quipped. "Usagi-chan, please. Tell me the truth. It might be what's causing your memory lapses."  
  
"What do you mean memory lapses?" she inquired. "I've only had one..."  
  
"A moment ago, you were saying that you don't remember how your feet were hurt," he stated.  
  
"That's silly. I know how my feet got hurt... I had run from Mako-chan's here," she retorted.   
  
He then thought of something. "Usagi-chan, what was the first thing you said to me after I woke up?" It hadn't been ten minutes and from the way she was acting, he was wondering if she was suffering from another lapse.  
  
"What a silly question," she said with a laugh as she struggled to think back. "Nani? That is what I said."  
  
"No... It wasn't... Usagi-chan... Please tell me. Have you suffered any sort of head injuries? A blow maybe? Did you hit your head on the pavement on your way to school ," he told her.  
  
"No, I usually bump my head on your chest..." she stated flatly. "I an usually careful enough not to hit my head when I do fall..." she trailed on quietly, "Just when caught in an explosion..."  
  
"What was that?" he inquired. From the sound of the last word, he could he sworn she said, "explosion."  
  
"Nothing... Just I think I might have been hit once a while back during one of the attacks at the temple," she stated. "But that was a long time ago. I doubt that it would have anything to do with now."  
  
"How long ago?" he asked.  
  
"You know when those buses were disappearing. I was on one and the ride was so rocky that I ended up smacking my head on one of the metal walls," she told him "I was unconscious for a while, but otherwise I was fine. I even had a clean bill of health from Sailor Mercury."  
  
Mamoru thought back and knew that that was almost four months ago. "I suppose you're right, but I still think that you should go see someone about why you keep having these episodes. I mean they could be a sign of something really dangerous."  
  
"Dangerous?" Usagi whimpered as her eyes watered up. "What do you mean? You don't think I'm dying do you? I'm too young-"  
  
"No, I don't think you're dying," he said in an attempt to avert the blonde's wailing. "Just that you should go get your head checked out, and I do not mean that in any sort of offensive manner."  
  
"I-I'll think about it..." she sighed softly. 'More like have Mercury check me out, but he doesn't have to know that now does he?'  
  
"Arigato," he told her; now, how are your feet feeling?"  
  
"They feel kinda numb... I mean I can't really feel them as long as I don't wiggle my toes... I do that, and it feels like they are bleeding again."  
  
"Since I doubt you crawled over here from your chair, how about I check out your feet one more time. Clean them up a bit," he offered. "Then we can go and see if Motoki has managed to contact any of your friends."  
  
Once again the young blonde was taken aback by the kindness he was showing. Well the kindness and the fact that she finally took the time to look at his features. Strong chin, piercing blue eyes, and a face which looked like it should be in magazines, and from what she remembered from when he was holding her, the body to match. She blushed softly when he smirked at her, letting her know that he had caught her staring at him.   
  
"That's odd..." he murmured after removing the bandages from her feet.  
  
"What is?" she questioned.   
  
"I could have sworn that your feet looked worse when I first bandages them, but now they looked like they have been healing for the past few days instead of past few hours," the dark haired upperclassman admitted. "It's probably the fact that I hadn't gotten any sleep that they looked so bad."  
  
"Yeah..." she breathed in relief as he started bandaging up her feet again. 'I'd forgotten about the fast healing that I have! How could I have been so stupid?!'  
  
"Well, I am going to go see if Motoki has gotten in touch with your friends. Then I'll drive you back to wherever you need to be," Mamoru said as he stood up and walked to the door. "I'll be back in a minute."  
  
Usagi nodded and waited for his return. She slumped back in her seat boredly after about a minute or so and perked up when she saw the door open. Instead of the black head of hair that she had been expecting, Makoto entered the room.  
  
"Usagi-chan!" the brunette exclaimed. "What happened to you this morning? Do you realize how worried we were? Rei, Ami and I have been out looking for you ever since Rei woke up."  
  
"I- I just..." The blonde had no idea how she was going to explain what had happened, because she wasn't so sure herself. "I don't know... I fell asleep in your living room, and the next thing I knew was that I had fallen on a street corner, barefoot with the bottoms of my feet... Well you can see..."  
  
"Oi... Usagi-chan..." the tall Amazonian girl sighed. "Well, at least you are all right. Anyways, I think it might have something to do with what happened last night, but we'll explain that once we get back to my place. This place is the slightest bit too crowded right now to actually discuss senshi business."  
  
Usagi nodded. "Mako-chan, not that I don't appreciate seeing you, demo, where is Mamoru-san?"  
  
"He went to Motoki-kun's car," she replied. "He should be out front by now."  
  
"Actually, he has been for about a minute," Motoki told the two. "I just thought you might need some help carrying Usagi-chan out there, so I decided to offer my sevices."  
  
"Arigato, Motoki-nii-chan!" Usagi exclaimed as he walked over and carefully picked up the young woman. No wonder Mamoru had made it look so easy. The blonde in his arms didn't weigh much at all, which surprised him considering how much she usually ate while at the arcade before spending money on the games. How did she work it all off was what he wanted to know.  
  
He carefully walked her through the entrance, thankful for the sliding doors which had only been installed a year before. After Mamoru pushed the door open, Motoki allowed Makoto to enter the vehicle and sit in the back seat before settling Usagi into the passenger seat.  
  
"Well, I hope your feet get better quickly, Usagi-chan," Motoki told her as he closed the door.  
  
"I'll be back in a little while, Motoki-kun," Mamoru said as he watched Usagi nod. "I'll take good care of your car."  
  
"All right," the blonde man replied before watching his best friend drive away. "Wait a minute, I never found out why Usagi-chan was running with no shoes on..." He simply shrugged and sighed as he turned around and walked into the slightly crowded arcade.  
  
Usagi looked at the radio in the car for what time it was, but sighed when she saw that the display wasn't working. "Oi..." she muttered softly.   
  
"What's the matter, Usagi-chan?" questioned Makoto.  
  
"I was wondering what time it was. I mean, I know that Mamoru-san and I fell asleep in the back room, but how long were we asleep?" the blonde replied before suddenly feeling the car suddenly stop.  
  
"What the hell?" the two heard Mamoru question softly as people ran out in front of the car.   
  
"Kaijuu!!" erupted from different people as they ran from the large office building causing Makoto and Usagi to shoot each other a knowing look which was ignored by Mamoru as he quickly got out of the car and went around to Usagi's side.   
  
"I doubt we're getting anywhere in the car at the rate the people are coming out of that building, and frankly we need to get out of here," the dark haired teen stated. 'And since I can't exactly become Tuxedo Kamen, I need to do something until the senshi arrive.' He then carefully picked up the blonde.   
  
"Mamoru-san, what are you doing?" questioned the blonde.  
  
"You can't walk, and I doubt that you'd get away fast enough by crawling, so I'm getting you out of danger. I know this neighborhood a little bit, and I think I might know a way out of here," said Mamoru before he noticed Makoto standing in front of him.   
  
"Mamoru-san, give her to me. I know this place a little better than you do, so I think I'd be able to get her out of here faster," advised the brunette.  
  
The upperclassman knew that she had a point, but a surge of protectiveness rose up in him and he fought back the urge to tighten his hold on the blonde in his arms. He looked over towards the building when he heard a roar erupt from it. He looked at Makoto one more time and felt a sense of confidence in her ability to protect the small blonde.   
  
'It would give me a chance to change into Tuxedo Kamen...' he thought. "All right, but if anything happens to either one of you, I'm going to come after you."  
  
"You have my word that we'll be all right," Makoto stated as he handed her Usagi. The three then took off into a run, Mamoru heading towards the crowd as it escaped the building, the two girls running into an alley.   
  
Makoto carefully sat the blonde on a garbage can and pulled her broach from her pocket. "I'm glad I made sure to grab this off the table this morning. Usagi-chan, do you know if this still works after what happened last night?"  
  
"What do you mean?" replied the blonde as she took her broach and noticed the small crack in the seal. "That... Well, I didn't change back from Sailor Moon last night, so I guess it should be all right. There's only one real way to check."  
  
"Henshin yo then," muttered Makoto as her henshin wand appeared in her hand.   
  
"Moon Prism Power..."  
  
"Jupiter Power..."  
  
"Make up!" cried the two before the alley was filled with green lightning and pink ribbons, transforming the two girls into the senshi, Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter  
  
"It works," Usagi stated. "And I think the powers healed my feet!!"  
  
"Great, now come on..." ordered Sailor Jupiter as she helped the smaller girl from where she was sitting. The two senshi then broke into a run, giving them enough momentum to leap up to the second story window. They saw that Tuxedo Kamen had surprisingly enough already shown up before any of the other senshi.  
  
It was at that moment that Usagi felt an intense presence overpower her.  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 4/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
"Sailor Moon!" exclaimed Sailor Jupiter as she saw her friend suddenly double over in pain. "What's the matter?"  
  
"HAHAHAHA!!!" cackled Zoicite from where he stood watching. "Queen Beryl will be glad to know that her power worked... Now, destroy them all, my banshee, and do be quick about it."  
  
"Hai, Zoicite-sama! This will be a piece of cake!" shouted the youma. "I'll even bring their heads as a trophy!"   
  
The blonde general rolled his eyes at the youma's words and simply nodded before teleporting back to the Dark Kingdom.  
  
"Urusei!" snapped Tuxedo Kamen as he threw a rose at the offending creature, the sharp end of the stem, piercing the thing's throat. He then ran to Sailor Moon's side and knelt before her. "Sailor Moon, daijobou?"  
  
She couldn't utter a response, so instead, the blonde shook her head. The look on her face was one of pure agony.  
  
"Where are Mercury and Mars when you need them?" sighed Jupiter as she silently cursed herself for forgetting her communicator. It was at that moment that a muffled cry was heard and the room began to fill up with an icy mist.   
  
"Speak of the devil?" quipped Tuxedo Kamen nervously as he kept Sailor Moon from falling to the floor. "It'll be ok, Sailor Moon. The others are here. Mercury can help find out what's wrong and think of something to do about it."  
  
The two remaining senshi ran up to the three and Mercury slipped into doctor mode when she saw the shape her friend was in.   
  
"Jupiter, what happened?" questioned the blue haired senshi.  
  
"I don't know. We had just arrived on the scene, and the first next thing I know, Sailor Moon suddenly calls out, and she is doubling over. It's just been getting worse since," filled in the tall brunette.   
  
"Can you scan Sailor Moon and the youma to see what is causing her this pain?" Tuxedo Kamen almost pleaded as he heard a soft whimper of pain escape the blonde. "And hurry please..."  
  
Mercury nodded as she pulled her minicomputer from her subspace pocket and quickly did as asked. "I think I've found it. The two bracelets on its wrists are the source of what is causing her pain. From what I can tell, they were designed to emit a signal which only she could hear. I'm not sure how it works, but what I can tell is that the two bracelets need to be destroyed at the same time."  
  
"Hear that, Jupiter?" asked Mars who received a nod from the taller senshi.   
  
"Fire..."  
  
"Supreme..."  
  
"SOUL!" "THUNDER!" the two cried simultaneously as they unleashed their attacks. The energies struck the creature's bracelets as it lifted its arms to shield itself from the oncoming attacks.   
  
"IIE!!" exclaimed the monster as looked at its wrists to see that it's main weapons against the leader of the senshi had been destroyed. It then looked behind Mars and Jupiter to see that the young blonde hadn't moved, and laughed. "I think you were too late..."  
  
The two senshi looked behind themselves to see that Sailor Moon was unconscious in Tuxedo Kamen's arms, with both he and Mercury trying to wake her up.   
  
"With Sailor Moon out of the way, the queen should be pleased..."  
  
"Mercury, Tuxedo Kamen, take care of her... We're going to deal with this piece of Dark Kingdom Slime!"  
  
"For endangering others, you are going to have to deal with me. In the name of the planet Mars, I'll punish you"  
  
"And for hurting out leader and friend, you had better start praying to your precious queen. In the name of the planet Jupiter, I'll punish you."   
  
The two quickly moved from the poses they were in and attacked the creature responsible for Sailor Moon's weakened stated. They each launched attacks, some combined, some separate, in attempts to injure the monster before them, but instead they ended up wearing themselves out.  
  
"I need to help them," whispered Sailor Mercury. "Take care of her. When she wakes up, see if she has enough energy to launch her tiara at the creature."  
  
The masked man simply nodded and watched the senshi of wisdom walk towards the creature. She skipped over the speeches and instead immediately launch her "Shabon Spray" defensive.  
  
The sudden cold seemed enough to snap Sailor Moon back to reality.  
  
"What happened?" she murmured softly as she looked up at him. 'Endymion... It can't be...'   
  
"You're awake..." breathed Tuxedo Kamen happily as he hugged the small blonde to him causing wince in pain. He gently pulled her away and looked at her. "Your senshi need you."  
  
"I- I can't..." she whimpered softly as she looked up at him. 'How could I help the senshi... My mother is the one who can control the crystal... not me... Endymion knows this... I knew he couldn't have been real...'  
  
"Yes, you can. I'll be right here helping you the whole time..." he told her with a gentle, reassuring smile.  
  
"How... How can I help them?" she questioned fearfully, causing a look of worry to cross the dark haired man's features. She was so confused, and her body was in so much pain. Why was she in a battle? Why would the senshi need her help? How was Endymion alive? Not that she was complaining about that last part, but still.  
  
"Your tiara. Just like you have done before. You just have to trust in yourself, and like I said, I'll be right here," he assured her, tenderly kissing her forehead to emphasize his point.  
  
She stopped caring as to whether or not he was real and smiled lovingly at him, confusing the tuxedo clad man for a moment, before struggling to her feet, despite the searing pain which ripped through her with each movement, bringing tears to her eyes. The blonde felt her dark haired love supporting her, keeping her steady as she struggled to think about what she was doing. A vague memory, played over and over in her mind... Muffled words shouted over and over.   
  
"Mother, please let this work," the young blonde whispered softly. She then closed her eyes as she lifted her head to her brow and removed the golden tiara. She gasped when she saw the way it powered up in her hand before hissing at the unexpected burning. She forced herself to block out the pain like her mother had taught her during their few training sessions with the ginzuishou. She fought to recall the words which kept repeating themselves over and over in her mind.   
  
Tuxedo saw the look of doubt on Sailor Moon's features and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I believe in you."  
  
She smiled softly before launching the tiara in front of her as she cried out the words, "Moon Tiara Action!"  
  
The blonde almost jumped up and down happily as she felt the earlier pain recede completely when the youma was destroyed. The three senshi raced over to the two.   
  
Mars immediately took her from Tuxedo Kamen's hold and wrapped her arms around the small blonde. "Kami-sama... Don't ever worry us like that again!" she snapped.  
  
The blonde looked down guiltily. "My apologies, Mars-chan..."  
  
The fiery senshi sighed and was about to say something when her leader turned her head over to where Tuxedo Kamen was leaving. She excused herself from the senshi for a moment. Stepping away from the group, she called out something that no one expected.  
  
"Endymion!"  
  
Tuxedo Kamen froze just as he reached the window. Thoughts of, "What did she just call me?" and "Only one person has ever called me that," ran through his mind. He turned his head and looked at her. "Masaka..." he whispered softly as he studied her. Her hair was the same as in the silohuette. He remembered the same silver eyes from the dream. The tone of voice was even the same now that he thought about it.  
  
"Endymion! Don't go! Please..." she called out softly as she slowly walked up to him.  
  
"S-Serenity..." he trailed off softly as she finally reached him.  
  
"It's really you..." the blonde trailed. "I was in so much pain that I thought my mind had been playing tricks on me once I saw Mars... I just... I thought you... I thought you were dead because of your garb. The last time I saw you in this..." She fought back the sobs that threatened to rack her small body.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen was at a loss. All of this time, the princess he had been looking for had been the girl he was saving. There was something off about her though. She thought he was dead. After all of the time that they had been fighting together. The last time she had seen him in the Tuxedo.  
  
"Serenity... Perhaps you should go with the senshi to somewhere where you can rest. I would take you somewhere, but I do not want to risk putting you in danger, and I doubt that your senshi would appreciate me running off with you," he told her.   
  
The two looked back at the four senshi, and the blonde sighed softly.   
  
"I just... Endymion, I am scared of this place... I woke up this morning... and I was in a place which I did not recognize. Then... Then I feel you near and I just... I wake up in a room in which we are both asleep... Then I am here, in battle, without any sort of idea as to what I am doing... I- I just want to go home.... I want to see mother... I..." Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and Tuxedo Kamen wrapped his arms around her, silently allowing her to cry herself to sleep in his arms.   
  
Sailor Jupiter walked up to the two when he finally made the motion that it was all right.   
  
"What happened to her? We heard her call out the name Endymion, but that was it," stated the brunette.   
  
"I'm not sure... Something... I don't know... Just, please, get her somewhere safe for the time being. Let her rest..." He carefully handed the slumbering blonde over to Jupiter with a wistful sigh. "For now there is something that I need to think about. Sayonara..."   
  
The tall senshi carefully lifted her friend as she watched the mysterious figure leap from the window and to the ground before heading into an alley.  
  
"What do you guys think that was about?" asked Mars as she and Mercury walked up to the two.   
  
Mercury looked at her leader and sighed. "I have a feeling that she is not going to tell us until she deems us ready to know. Considering Rei-chan's and Luna's attitude towards Tuxedo Kamen."  
  
The other two sighed.   
  
"I suppose we should get her to my apartment. I don't think that it's going to be very productive if the police catch us here," Makoto said as she looked out the window to see police cars and ambulances pulling up to the building.  
  
Mars and Mercury nodded before they leapt from the building and to the fire escape of a nearby establishment. Using the rooftops, the three raced to Makoto's apartment and entered through the window once again.  
  
"Girls, I read Ami's note about the youma. Are you all right?" questioned Luna as she raced up to the four senshi as all of them but Usagi powered down. The feline jumped up onto Ami's shoulder and inspected the young blonde. "What happened to Usagi-chan?"  
  
"The youma had some sort of attack designed especially for Sailor Moon," explained the blue haired girl. "Jupiter and Mars destroyed the source of the attack, but shortly after destroying the youma-"  
  
"She had some sort of discussion with Tuxedo Kamen which, from the look of her face, caused her to start crying until she fell asleep," Rei finished. "We were hoping that you might be able to do something about her broach."  
  
"Yes, the crack. Ami made sure to leave that in the note. I looked for it in the apartment when I woke up, but I couldn't find it. I simply guessed that Usagi-chan took it with her when she left. Lay the broach down so that I may look at it," said the cat. Mars nodded and gently removed the trinket from Sailor Moon's bow, causing the blonde to power down. Luna looked at Usagi's feet with a curious expression.   
  
"Mako-chan, you were the one to locate Usagi-chan, ne?" inquired Luna. Seeing the brunette nod, she continued. "What happened to her feet? Why are they bandaged like that?"  
  
"She ran from my apartment almost to the arcade with out any shoes. Mamoru-san ended up finding her and taking her to the arcade. He bandaged up her feet when they got there. That is what Motoki-kun told me anyways."  
  
"All right. Well, her powers should have healed them, but I think Ami-chan should check them out because of the crack in the broach," Luna suggested. "Usagi-chan may be able to henshin, but she might have lost some of the healing attributes."  
  
Ami nodded and carefully removed the bandages from Usagi's feet and sighed when she saw that nothing appeared wrong with her friend's feet. "At least the healing aspect of Usagi's powers is still working. Now we just have to wait for her to wake up."  
  
While Ami inspected Usagi's feet, Luna looked over the broach and gently touched it with her paw. She hissed softly when she felt a strangely painful sensation rip through her. Ignoring the pain, she quickly used the same magic she used to conjure the small broach to repair the crack before she felt a great deal of pressure in her head. 'What's happening... to me?' was the last thought to go through her mind as she fell from the table, reaching the floor quicker than she had expected.   
  



	5. Chapter 5

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 5/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
"Luna!" cried out Rei as she raced over to the cat, who was giving off a strange light. As the seconds passed, the light grew brighter. After a few minutes, Luna's familiar feline shape began to change.   
  
The cat's ears lowered and were replaced by two odango from which long strings of hair emerged and blended with hair that flowed down to the small of her back. The fur which covered her body disappeared and Luna's body was clothed in a dress of yellow fabric and dark blue and black lacy material. The only way to tell that the woman was Luna was by the small crescent moon on her brow.  
  
"What happened to her?" questioned Makoto as she knelt beside Rei.  
  
"I don't know... Luna fixed Usagi's broach and then fell from the table and was replaced by her, or became her. I don't know exactly why though," admitted the dark haired miko. "But until she wakes up, we're just going to have to wait."  
  
"Great," sighed Makoto. "We have two unconscious people on our hands, and no idea as to what's going on. I have a feeling that Tuxedo knows more about what's going on than we do from that one conversation he had with her."  
  
"Well, hopefully they'll explain all this once they wake up," Ami said as she walked up to the two from where she had overheard their conversation. "I rescanned Usagi-chan, and there is something strange that I think you should know about. I should have mentioned it earlier, but I thought it was nothing."  
  
"What is it, Ami-chan?" questioned Makoto.  
  
"Well..."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Mamoru sat on his couch, staring up at the ceiling as thoughts ran through his head at a million miles a minute. 'Why didn't I ever notice it before? Why didn't she ever tell me? Why now? Why does she continue to come to me asking me to find the ginzuishou if she is in search of it?'  
  
He groaned as he tried to think of a logical answer to all of the questions going through his mind. No wonder he had felt so attracted to Sailor Moon. Now if someone could explain the reason he felt the same sort of attraction towards the odango atama, he'd be set.  
  
Both were suddenly proving to be utterly confusing women. Usagi with the strange memory lapses, and the princess finally revealing herself to him. What confused him most was the fact that he could not remember the things which she had described to him. He could but they had taken place with...  
  
"Why didn't I notice that before?!" he exclaimed. "The Hair. Who else has that hair style? The eyes, the voice. Hell, I have bumped into her enough to notice that they weigh the same. And all this time, I've been insulting not only the woman of my dreams, but the heroine of Tokyo. I am an idiot..."  
  
Mamoru slowly rose from where he was sitting and walked out onto the balcony. He over looked the city with tired eyes. How he longed to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, images of Sailor Moon, no, Serenity crying in his arms would fill his mind.   
  
'Why hadn't she ever expressed those same feelings before?' he thought. 'It's almost as if this was her first time ever fighting... But I know that isn't true. That is unless she was experiencing one of the memory lapses. I knew those things could be dangerous, but if she is having them while she is Sailor Moon, then she could be killed.'  
  
Killed. Those words rang in his mind as he remembered back to what she had told him. "She thought I was dead? When? Could she have been lapsing back to the time when I fought with Jadeite at the airport? No... She knew about her powers then... What is happening to her-"  
  
He suddenly felt a rush of power wash over him. He looked down and saw that he had not henshined into Tuxedo Kamen like he did when he felt Sailor Moon in danger. In fact he couldn't feel the pull coming from Sailor Moon. It was as if someone had in some way activated her powers for a split second.  
  
"I need to talk to her. Or at least the senshi... Their identities are easy enough to figure out now that I know who Moon is, but where could they be right now?" he muttered. Makoto said that she was going to take Usagi to safety, and instead they went into battle. Where could they have gone after the fight? The temple was too far to carry the blonde, and he could guess that Ami lived near the hospital. That would only leave one place, and he only had a general idea of where that was.  
  
Then again, a general idea was all that he needed. He could go from the scene of the battle and hopefully go from there.   
  
Grabbing his jacket and slipping on his shoes, Mamoru headed out of the apartment and once again to where he had finally found his princess. Going to the garage, he found the car which he had gratefully remembered to get a few minutes after the battle, and headed down towards the battle scene. Once there he closed his eyes and focused on the like which always pulsed violently when Sailor Moon transformed.   
  
-------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Zoicite!" bellowed Beryl from her throne. A second later the light haired shitennou appeared before her.   
  
"You called, my queen?" he asked as he bowed before her.   
  
"What happened at the battle between the senshi and the youma I allowed you to take with you?"  
  
"It seems as though the senshi defeated it. I suspect that the senshi, Sailors Jupiter, managed to destroy the gauntlets you had bestowed upon the creature and then distracted it long enough for Sailor Moon to regain her strength enough to destroy it," he explained to the best of his ability. "I ask of your forgiveness, Queen Beryl. I assure you that next time, Sailor Moon and her senshi will be defeated. Now that we have the information on at least one of their physiologies, we can go from there in creating weapons to defeat all of them."  
  
"Very well, but know that I will not tolerate any more failures from you. Is that understood?"  
  
"Hai, Queen Beryl," he replied.  
  
"Now go. Choose a youma and do whatever you have to in order to make it capable of defeating the senshi," Beryl commanded. The long haired shitennou disappeared to somewhere in the Dark Kingdom.  
  
Beryl blinked when she felt a familiar surge of energy pass over her. "What was that? That energy was so powerful? Could it have been the ginzuishou?"   
  
She shook her head to think away the belief. She knew that the key to the crystal was the rainbow crystals, and there were four in Kunzite and Zoicite's possession. Even still... What was that strange energy?  
  
Minako Aino was still moping about the discovery of just who Kaitou Ace had been when she felt a familiar energy wash over her.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Oh no... Artemis!" she gasped as she broke into a run on the way to her house. The minute she entered the door, she kicked her shoes off and raced up the stairs to her room.   
  
She slammed the door shut when she saw the white cat sitting on her bed with a concerned look on his face.  
  
"You felt it as well didn't you?" he asked.  
  
"Hai... I thought something had happened to you, but you appear to be safe, and that could only mean-"  
  
"Something has happened to Luna. We need to contact the other senshi as soon as possible to see what is happening," he told her.  
  
"So I suppose Sailor V is going to finally be allowed to become Sailor Venus, eh? I suppose it was going to have to happen sooner or later," the blonde replied. "But, could it not be dangerous for the decoy to join the princess?"  
  
"I have a feeling that if something has happened to Luna, then the princess is most likely already in danger," the white feline replied. "At the next battle, you will join them, and you will make sure that they are all right. We will go on from there."  
  
"I understand, Artemis."  
  
Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. Thanks for the replies!!! I'll try to have the next chapter out soon. For those of you who have been waiting for the Usa Mamo moments, the next chapter is for you! -   
  
Until Next Time! 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 6/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
Makoto nervously paced the floor, her eyes darting between the dark haired woman and her friend. She wasn't sure what was happening, or whether or not the dark haired woman was really Luna, but she was sure that she wanted to destroy the youma that caused all of what was happening to her friends.   
  
Usagi had been asleep for almost two hours, with no sign of waking any time soon, and Luna had been unconscious for almost an hour and a half before she even started showing signs of coming around. Ami kept doing all that she could think of to make sure that the two were all right. Rei had to go back to the temple after receiving a call from her grandfather but promised to be back as soon as she could.   
  
Thirty minutes had passed since Rei had left, and Makoto jumped when she heard a knock at her door. She wondered who it could be. Rei lived almost twenty minutes away from her apartment, and no one else could possibly want to come due to the attack earlier in the day being so near her apartment complex.   
  
Makoto cleared her throat and asked who it was. She blinked when she heard Mamoru's voice come from the other side. "One minute please," she replied.   
  
"Who is at the door, Mako-chan?" questioned Ami from the living room.  
  
"Mamoru-san," the brunette answered. "I suppose he is wanting to make sure that Usagi is all right, but I can't remember telling him which apartment I lived in."  
  
"Maybe you can ask him when you let... Oh dear, we've got to get Luna out of sight," the petite blue haired girl muttered.   
  
"I'll get her out if you let him in once she is out of the room," Makoto suggested. Ami nodded and watched as the taller girl walked over and carefully lifted the dark haired figure off of the ground.   
  
Once she heard Makoto's door shut, Ami opened the door and allowed Mamoru to enter the apartment. Mamoru looked at her curiously.   
  
"Wasn't I just speaking with Makoto?" the dark haired upperclassman asked.  
  
"Yes, but-"  
  
"You don't have to explain. I was just checking to make sure that I wasn't getting the all of you confused," he explained. "Anyways, I came by to see if I could speak with Usagi-chan."  
  
"Um... She's asleep right now, Mamoru-san," Ami told him. "Perhaps you can wait until you see her at the arcade next. She was rather exhausted when she and Mako-chan were brought back."  
  
"You don't understand, Mizuno-san, I need to talk to her," he said almost pleadingly.  
  
"Mamoru-san... I... I don't..."  
  
"It's all right, Ami-chan," said Usagi as she slowly walked up behind the blue haired girl. "I've been awake ever since he knocked. It just took me a while to decide to get up."  
  
"Are you sure, Usagi-chan?"   
  
The blonde nodded. "Privacy or no?" she asked the tall young man.  
  
"I think that would be best," Mamoru insisted. "It'll only be for a while."  
  
"All right," she insisted. "Um.. Ami-chan, can you make sure Makoto doesn't disturb us?"  
  
The blue haired girl nodded silently before walking back in to the living area, leaving Mamoru and Usagi in the small kitchenette.   
  
"What did you need to speak about, Mamoru-san?" Usagi questioned nervously as the two of them took a seat at the small table.  
  
"Well, first, I wanted to see how your head was doing?" he stated.  
  
"Oh... um... I am beginning to think that you are right... I think I might really need to go see a doctor," she told him. "I had another lapse, and this time... It just wasn't at the best time to have one. The only bad thing is that I haven't told me parents about what happened, and I have a feeling that they aren't going to be happy about keeping it from them."  
  
"Well, if you want... I can be there when you do tell them," Mamoru offered.  
  
"Oh... um... arigato," she said uncertainly. "Well, is there anything else that you wanted to talk about? I mean you did say first."  
  
Mamoru sighed when he guessed what she meant when she had told him the last occurrence happened at not the best time.  
  
"Usagi-chan, I know your secret. I know that you are Sailor Moon," he admitted silently, his eyes staying on her face to see her reaction.  
  
"Me... Sailor Moon? What are you talking about, Mamoru-san?" she laughed nervously. 'Oh... no... Luna is going to kill me when she finds out that someone knows who I am..."  
  
"Don't worry. I only figured it out because of the last time you had a memory lapse. When you had to destroy the youma," he explained.   
  
"But you weren't there, were you?" she asked curiously as she looked at him, confusion shown clearly on her heart shaped face.  
  
"Yeah, I was. I've been there for almost every battle that I know of," he told her. "Granted, I have been in a less recognizable form, and throwing around roses instead of insults."  
  
"Tux- Tuxedo Kamen-sama..." Usagi whispered softly in disbelief. She paled visibly when she saw him nod. She blinked and started thinking aloud to herself, "I've been getting into arguments every morning with the guy I have had a crush on ever since my first battle. Kami-sama..."   
  
Mamoru smiled before her expression went from one of disbelief back to confusion.  
  
"Usagi-chan, daijobu?" he questioned, his voice laced with concern.  
  
"Hai, demo I was wondering, could you tell me what happened during the battle. I remember passing out, and then hearing you knock on the door. What exactly clued you into my being Sailor Moon?"  
  
"Well, after you passed out because of the pain you were in, you regained consciousness, and it was almost as if you were a completely different person. You couldn't remember fighting, and you were just... well, not you," he tried to explain. "It was pretty much the same thing that had happened earlier at the arcade. I put it all together after I got back to my place after the battle. It was when I figured out who you are that I realized just how much danger you could be in."  
  
"But wouldn't that be like me starting all over with no knowledge of my powers? I mean I had to learn everything in the first place," she stated. "Besides, as Sailor Moon I have always been in danger in the battles. I've been in danger outside of the battles because of where they take place. I'm going to be in danger until the ginzuishu and the princess are found"  
  
"Yes, but..." Mamoru was at a loss. She was right, but her last response made him realize that she didn't know who she was. "Usagi-chan... what if I could tell you that I knew who the princess was, and that you could stop searching for her. Would that halt your going into battle until the crystal was found?"  
  
"I can't stop. I have to... Wait a minute. You know who the princess is? I thought you said that you were trying to find her," the blonde inquired, her blue eyes staring into his own, peering for some sign as to whether or not he was telling the truth. Just like when he was Tuxedo Kamen, his eyes were unreadable.   
  
"I was, but that was before I realized who she was. Don't ask me to tell you, please. I'll tell you, but just not now," he requested.  
  
She nodded before answering the question he had asked her earlier. "Well... like I said, I can't stop going into battle, memory lapses or not. I may not like the idea of fighting, but I don't like the idea of innocent people being hurt more. It's my duty to protect the people until the princess is found and can put an end to Beryl's terror." She lowered her head to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. Now that she was thinking about it, she was realizing just how much of a sacrifice she had been asked to make when she was given the brooch. "And after that, I am to protect the princess herself. My life is bound by duty, and I can't just give up what I have to do. No matter how scared I am. No matter how much pain I feel. No matter how many times I have almost been killed..."  
  
Mamoru saw a small tear fall down the blonde's cheek and reached out to wipe it away. "You must be so scared," he breathed as he felt her lean into his touch. "You shouldn't have been given duty so young..."  
  
"But Luna didn't have much choice... Jadeite was already sending youma to Earth. Besides, I suppose that it is better that we are so young. I mean the older people get, the less believing they become, and for some, the more attached to their lives they become," she replied with a shrug as she fought back sobs. "Yeah, I'm scared, but I just figure that anyone older would be more resistant to the idea of fighting. That and anyone older will have made more attachments while here on this planet. If I died in the next battle, no one would miss me..."  
  
Mamoru saw the heart breaking look on her face and carefully pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and spoke softly into her ear. "You're wrong Usagi-chan... Motoki would miss you. Your friends would miss you. Your parents would miss you. I would miss you."  
  
Usagi couldn't say anything. Everything in her mind was thrown out at the feeling of his warm breath on her neck sent shivers through her. The only thing that had registered in her mind out of everything that he had said was that he would miss her.   
  
"Would you really?" she said as she pulled away enough to look up into his eyes.   
  
"More than you know," he admitted as he lifted his hand and gently brushed a lock of hair out of her face.   
  
"Mamoru-san... I..."  
  
Before she could say anything else, Mamoru leaned down and kissed her softly. The moment his lips had touched her own, electricity had ripped through her, causing her legs to suddenly feel like jelly. Her arms moved up his chest and wrapped around his neck to keep from falling to the ground. A soft moan was elicited from her as his tongue slipped into her mouth to dance with her own.   
  
Neither of them heard the door to the apartment open until the clatter of a purse shocked them out of their reverie.  
  
"Oh, kami-sama..." the two heard Rei whisper softly.   
  
"Rei-chan!" Usagi called out as the raven haired miko turned and ran out of the apartment. "Oh no... I- I need to go after her. I need to make sure that she is ok..."  
  
"I'll go with you," Mamoru said as he walked up to the door with her.   
  
Usagi shook her head slowly. "I think it would be better if I talked with her. I mean she's liked you for a while and to be honest, I don't think she would want to see the both of us so soon after seeing us kissing."   
  
Mamoru sighed and nodded as he watched her slip on her shoes. "All right, but if anything happens, and I mean anything, I want you to get out of there. No transforming. Not until you have been looked at about those memory lapses."  
  
Usagi nodded before running out of the apartment and in search of her friend.  
  
"What exactly was happening in here?" asked Makoto as she and Ami walked up behind the dark haired man. The taller one heard Usagi call out and wondered if Rei was in some sort of trouble, and if so, had Mamoru caused it. The dark haired girl felt a stranger sense of distrust towards the upperclassman, and it was only increased whenever she heard him insult her.  
  
"Well, um..." Mamoru tried to think of a way to explain what had just happened while trying to avoid the both curious and death-promising gaze of the brown haired girl. "Usagi and I... Well... we were kissing... Then, Rei walked in and ran out. Usagi went after her."  
  
"Poor Rei-chan..." murmured the blue haired genius.   
  
"Mind explaining why you two were kissing?" the Amazon like young woman questioned.  
  
"Oi..." Mamoru sighed as he ran his hands over his face. "Maybe you should ask Usagi that instead of me. No offense, Makoto-san, but I think that she would be better at explaining-" He groaned softly as he raised a hand to his head.  
  
"Mamoru-san, daijobu?" asked Ami as she took a step towards him.  
  
"I told her not to transform this time..." he groaned as he instinctively pulled a rose from his subspace pocket and transformed into Tuxedo Kamen. "Usagi just turned into Sailor Moon. She might be in danger."  
  
The two looked at each other before nodding. If he knew who Sailor Moon was, then it wouldn't be long before figuring out who the senshi were.   
  
"Tell anyone about this, and you'll learn what a lightning rod feels like," Makoto snapped, as she and Ami summoned their henshin wands. The two called out their henshin phrases, and seconds later, the two girls were replaced by the senshi of Mercury and Jupiter.  
  
By the time their transformations were completed, Mamoru was out of the window and leaping from the fire escape. The two followed him, knowing that he would lead them to their friend.   
  



	7. Chapter 7

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 7/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
The three crossed innumerable rooftops before finally seeing the bright lights of Sailor Moon's and Sailor Mars' attacks. The saw that the location of the battle was in one of the few remaining dilapidated buildings of Tokyo.   
  
Jupiter leapt down to the battle scene while Mercury noticed how Tuxedo Kamen crouched down, simply observing the fight.  
  
"You sit by and watch until Sailor Moon is in trouble don't you?" she asked simply.   
  
"Unlike you and the other senshi, I have no attacks aside from my roses and cane. Against these youma, I cannot risk putting Sailor Moon in danger by being hurt in a battle of nothing more than brute force and halfway thought out plans," he replied, his eyes continuing to follow the battle taking place. "Shouldn't you be down there helping them?"  
  
Mercury blinked at his frankness but knew that he was right. Taking a deep breath, the senshi of ice jumped from where she was standing down to the floor behind Sailor Mars.   
  
"So finally, all of the senshi are here," the four girls heard Zoicite state with a derisive chuckle. "I was wondering when you last two would show up."  
  
"Why is that? Were you looking for a one way trip to Eternity, because we'll gladly give you one!" exclaimed the warrior of thunder as she cracked her knuckles.   
  
"Well, more like the other way around, Sailor Brat. Have fun dealing with this creature, and good luck trying to find a way to defeat it. I have a feeling that Sailor Mercury might be the slightest bit too distracted to discover a way to defeat it," scoffed the light haired general. "Youma... whatever your name is, show them just what makes you so special."  
  
"Hai, Zoicite-sama!" replied the box shaped, top hat wearing youma before three lines appeared on its front. What could only be described as the creature's chest opened revealing four speaker like devices.  
  
The four senshi prepared themselves for a sonic blast, but were taken by surprised when nothing came from the openings. In fact for a few moments, the senshi heard nothing until a soft groan came from their leader as she covered her ears.   
  
"Senshi... Get out of here!" ordered Sailor Moon, her voice reflecting the pain that was being caused by... No one was really sure what. The three unaffected senshi hurried to their leader to try and shield her from the invisible offender until their heads began to pound and their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably.  
  
"What's going on?" questioned Mars, as she fought to ignore the pain that was coursing through her. She then noticed the way that Usagi had fallen to her knees, clutching tightly to herself in an attempt to either block out the pain or hold herself together.  
  
"High pitched sound waves... Just like the last youma..." replied Mercury.  
  
"But last time, only Sailor Moon was affected," Jupiter recalled as she tried to keep herself together long enough to call forth her attack.   
  
"They must have done something to..." Mercury cried softly through the pain as she fell to her knees beside her leader. "...To make it cause all of us harm."  
  
The Youma laughed stupidly as it walked towards the two standing warriors, it's right hand turning a knob causing the pain ripping through each of the senshi to intensify.  
  
"Supreme..." the Amazonian senshi started before she was almost overcome by the pain. She dropped to the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso as she felt herself being forced apart.  
  
"Sailor Moon..." muttered Mars as she found both herself and Jupiter losing the fight to remain on her feet. "Can you do anything to attack this thing?"  
  
Sailor Moon couldn't respond as she leaned against Mercury for support, her eyes slowly shifting from their brilliant blue to a shining silver.  
  
"Now, show them your ultimate attack and earn a place in Dark Kingdom history forever," Zoicite commanded the youma.   
  
The seemingly mindless creature nodded and raised a hand to its top hat, and lifted the top few layer, revealing the accessory to be nothing more than a stack of cd like weapons. It hurled the collection at the senshi. Just before it sliced into them, roses broke through the projectiles, shattering them.   
  
"For harming the warriors of this city by using silent attacks makes you a blight upon this city, and Tuxedo Kamen will not forgive you for this," the tuxedo clad man shouted before he leapt from the windowsill he was standing on and landed in front of the four senshi.  
  
"No... Endymion, don't..." he heard a soft voice whimper softly from behind him. He then realized that the pain had most likely caused Usagi to slip into unconsciousness, causing the princess to awaken with her for the time being.  
  
"Kuso!" he cursed softly as he took a stance in front of her.   
  
"Just remember what I told you and what you did the last time you fought, and when I give the word, launch your attack, " he told her. "You can do this. I have faith in you."  
  
The scared blonde nodded and forced herself to block out what pain she could, praying to the goddess that the noise ringing inside her head would stop soon enough to allow her to concentrate.   
  
Tuxedo Kamen could feel the anxiety and fear rolling off of the blonde as he launched a barrage of roses at the creature, hoping to pierce and destroy the speakers from which he could only guess the silent noise was coming from.  
  
Just as the roses were about to hit their target, the roses were blown aside by a blast of wind and pink rose petals. The dark figure then felt himself being thrown back by the same sort of attack.   
  
"Youma, you were equipped with a setting specifically for Earthlings. Use it," snapped the shitennou quickly.  
  
The youma muttered a sharp affirmation before lifting its left arm and revealing a fifth speaker. Within seconds, Tuxedo Kamen heard a piercing sound invade his mind, and his entire body suddenly screamed in pain as he rose to his feet after the attack that Zoicite had launched moments before.   
  
Just as the youma was about to throw one of its round weapons at the fallen warrior a high pitched cry sounded through out the building.  
  
"Crescent Beam!" a bolt of energy slammed into the youma's front, smashing all of the speakers except for the one emanating the sound causing Tuxedo Kamen pain.   
  
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Zoicite as he looked up and saw the silhouette of yet another senshi. "Where the hell are all of you coming from?!"  
  
"That is none of your business, Dark Kingdom scum!" shouted the newest warrior, distracting the two attackers from the senshi as Sailor Moon slowly rose to her feet and moved as quietly as she could over to Tuxedo Kamen who was doubled over on the ground.   
  
""Ai to seigi no sera fuku bishoujo senshi Sailor Venus! Kinsei ni kawatte, oshiokiyo!" finished the newest opponent to appear. Her long blonde hair flowed behind her as a red mask fluttered to the floor in front of her orange heel clad feet.  
  
"Sailor Venus!" exclaimed Sailor Moon, her silver eyes clouded by tears as she was unable to think of a way to stop the pain her love was feeling. "Please! You have to do something to help him!"  
  
Noticing something odd about the blonde across the room, the orange clad senshi of love raised her hand and gathered the energy surrounding her before launching another attack at the youma.  
  
"Crescent beam!" cried the blonde warrior as the energy shot from her fingertips towards the creature. Before it was hit, the speaker like creature dove out of the way, causing the attack to miss it and head straight toward the senshi of the moon and Tuxedo Kamen.  
  
Knowing that he was unable to do anything due to the pain he was still being caused, the odango haired girl shoved him to the side as hard as she could and took the attack straight to the chest.   
  
Tuxedo Kamen, who had rolled onto his side, watched as the young warrior- no, his princess was struck.   
  
"No!" cried out Sailor Venus as she started to raced towards her fellow senshi. She was knocked off of her feet by an intense surge of wind and landed beside the other three senshi.   
  
"Serenity!!!" exclaimed Tuxedo Kamen, despite the way his muscles fought the simple.  
  
"I have to thank you for making my job so much easier, Sailor... Venus, was it? To think that Sail- What did he just call out?" questioned Zoicite, ignoring the icy glare being shot at him by the blonde as he turned his attention to the two fallen warriors.   
  
On the ground was Sailor Moon, as she crawled over to her love, completely oblivious to the bright glow surrounding her body. As the seconds passed, the glow brightened until she reached Tuxedo Kamen who had finally lost the battle for consciousness.   
  
"Endymion," she whimpered softly as tears rained down from her eyes. "Wake up... Onegai..."  
  
"He won't wake up!" exclaimed the youma triumphantly. It may not have been able to destroy the senshi, but taking out their precious protector was a duty which Zoicite expressed very clearly as being important. "His insides will soon be liquefied, and he'll die!"  
  
"No... No... No. No! Noooo!!!" screamed the blonde as the glow once more began to intensify and engulf everyone in the room. Zoicite managed to teleport out a moment before the energy would have destroyed him.  
  
The light haired shitennou floated outside the building until the glow had faded, planning to go back in and finish the job he had started. Beryl had made herself quite clear that if he was not going to come back victorious, he was not to return to the Dark Kingdom at all.  
  
"Zoicite!"   
  
Speak of the devil, he thought.   
  
"Zoicite, bring me Sailor Moon!" he heard Beryl command. "Leave the other senshi for now. She has become our main concern!"   
  
"Hai, Beryl-sama!" accepted Zoicite. Once the glow was completely gone, the youma was gone, and Sailor Moon... No... A strange girl wearing a long flowing dress with hair pooled around her, laid slumped over Tuxedo Kamen.   
  
Before the senshi had a chance to rush to her side, Zoicite teleported into the building and held out his hand, causing the unconscious blonde to rise. She floated up into his arms as he smirked devilishly at them.   
  
"Say goodbye to your precious leader," he mocked before the two of them disappear.  
  
"No!" exclaimed Sailor Mars weakly as she struggled to hurry over to where her friend had once lain.  
  
"No..." whispered Venus softly as she looked down, her fist clenching tightly as she realized the severity of what had just happened.   
  
"How could you have been do reckless?!" screamed Sailor Jupiter as she slowly walked up to the new senshi.   
  
"We can discuss this later, senshi," came a masculine voice from the feet of the two warriors. The taller warrior looked down to see a small white cat with a crescent moon shining through its fur.  
  
"Who the hell are you two?" snapped the senshi of thunder.   
  
"I'll explain everything, but first we all must go somewhere safe," insisted the feline.  
  
"No... Jupiter is right. Who are you?" replied Mars as she walked up to the two as she and Mercury barely supported a still unconscious Tuxedo Kamen.   
  
"Minna-chan," Sailor Mercury started. "The neko-chan is right. We need to get out of here before Zoicite decides to attack us while we are still weakened. Besides we still need to check on Luna."  
  
The two angered senshi sighed and agreed. "Follow us," ordered Jupiter as she carefully took Tuxedo Kamen from the two and, using the amplified strength caused by her powers, carried him out of the building, the others in tow.  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: I'll let the plot of the story remain a mystery until people  
start reading.  
Chapters: 8/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
Usagi looked around fearfully at the darkness surrounding her. She had once again passed out during battle, and when she woke, she was in a place so empty that she could never have imagined it.  
  
"H-Hello?" she called out loudly, shattering the silence, replacing it with deafening echoes.   
  
"Please, don't cry out like that," she heard a familiar voice request softly. "This place uses the sounds of the scared to break their wills and shatter their minds."  
  
"Who- Who are you?" she asked, her volume lowered to just above a whisper. "How do you know about this place?"  
  
'Good going, Usagi-baka!' she scalded herself silently. 'Ask the only other person here about how they know this place.'  
  
"I know because it was common practice for the Dark Kingdom to use this method to gather followers. My mother always warned me of this place should I ever be captured by Beryl's minions," stated the voice as a sense of longing and sudden sadness washed over her.  
  
"Your mother warned you about the Dark Kingdom? Who are you?" Usagi asked again as she peered into the inky blackness, trying to see the source of the voice. A second had passed before a sad laughed sounded.  
  
"I suppose, I'm not being fair by keeping myself hidden from you. I am... Not quite sure how to put this. I suppose you could say that I am Princess Serenity of the Silver Millennium." Usagi gasped at the idea of finally meeting the princess she was destined to protect, but almost fainted when she saw the Princess' face. "I suppose you could also say that I am you, Tsukino Usagi."  
  
"You mean, you're me and... And I am the princess?"   
  
"That is correct," Serenity replied with a slight nod. She watched as the blonde tapped her chin and chewed on her lower lip in thought. 'I guess I still have that habit in my next life as well.'  
  
"Are... Are you the reason as to why I've been having memory lapses?" Serenity blinked and looked confused at Usagi's question. "Um... you've been gaining control of me or something like that?"  
  
"Oh... I think I understand what you are saying, and yes I have been," the soft spoken royal replied. "I am afraid that duality is going to have to be put to the test. The Dark Kingdom is trying to put you, me, us, oh I don't know how to say it, but they are trying to turn Sailor Moon against the senshi. That has to be the only reason as to why we are still alive right now."  
  
"I have to stop them..." Usagi muttered softly. "How can I stop them?"  
  
"One of us has to submit to the Dark Kingdom's will," Serenity told her. "The other will become dormant until either the crystal is found or until we are either freed or destroyed by the senshi."  
  
"It should be me then, I suppose," the blue eyed girl sighed as tears fell down her cheeks. "If the Dark Kingdom controls the princess when the ginzuishou is found then they will have control of it. If I am in their control, then you can take over and use the crystal to free us..."  
  
"There is no way of telling that you will be unable to find the crystal and control as well as I should be able to. I am you, and you are me," Serenity saw the fear written on the face of Usagi, and tried to think of a way to lift her spirits, if only slightly. "We have just yet to merge into one persona... I think that is the right word. I never did listen to my instructors when concerning my vocabulary lessons."  
  
"You too?" Usagi asked, as she realized what the princess was doing. She had done it for so many of her friends and even people she had just met who were looking depressed. "I guess we are more alike than Luna would like to think. From the way she sounds, you were intelligent, the exact opposite of me."  
  
"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I am unintelligent, but I don't like being serious all of the time," Serenity stated as she walked up to her modern day counterpart.  
  
"I think you had better go... The longer you stay active, the more... exposed you are to the dark energy," suggested Usagi. "Just make sure to wake up when the time is right, please?"  
  
"You have my word, just please.. do not let any of the beings of this realm know of our... duality. That could put the senshi in grave danger," Serenity asked.  
  
"I'll do what I can," Usagi promised before she watched the spirit of Serenity fade away. Falling to her knees, the blonde felt utterly and completely alone, for the first time in years. Once again, her life was being controlled, but this time it was also seemingly being destroyed.  
  
Tossing her head back, Usagi released a pained scream, waiting for the echoes which Serenity had told her of.

---------------------------------------------------------

Makoto paced the floor of her apartment, occasionally throwing glances at the blonde sitting slumped over in a chair, sobbing because of her earlier actions, and the unconscious man on her couch whose face was one of suffering.   
  
The brunette's earlier anger had faded once she heard the girl, Minako's, explanation of who she was and her actions. All that was left was worry for her friend, and leader, as well as for the injured Mamoru.   
  
"How is he, Ami-chan?" questioned the Amazon like girl.  
  
"He should be fine. The attack did a number on him though. Had he been forced to endure that sound any longer, his body might have suffered permanent damage," the blue haired girl admitted, her tone a mixture of happiness and relief. "I am not sure when he is going to wake up, but hopefully it will be soon."  
  
"Yeah... He has some questions to answer," the tall girl stated as the door she was facing opened.  
  
Rei walked out of the bedroom and up to Makoto, leaving Artemis to try and wake Luna. She sighed softly, "She's back to her feline form. Artemis said that the energy given off when repairing Usagi's brooch forced her to revert to her true form."  
  
"At least nothing was wrong with her," Ami said as she looked at the remorseful blonde. "Aino-san, everything is going to be all right. You had no way of telling that the youma was going to dodge. They usually don't."  
  
"I could have moved so that the attack would not have hurt her. I failed in my duty of protecting the princess. I was careless, and because of it, she is now in their clutches. If they get the ginzuishou then this planet-"   
  
Rei and Ami jumped at the sound of Makoto's palm smacking into the side of the distraught blonde's face.  
  
"Gomen ne, Aino-san," she apologized. "Demo, you are a senshi! The leader of the senshi during the Silver Millennium nonetheless. You cannot allow yourself to dwell over the loss of Sailor Moon- the princess- Usagi-chan. She would not want you to. She would want you to carry on fighting for this planet. She would want all of us to try and think of some way to rescue her. She wouldn't want anyone to cry."  
  
"Mako-chan is right, Aino-san," came Ami's soft voice. "Yes, she was captured. Yes, she is the princess. We are the ones who are meant to protect her. We are the ones who are going to have to be strong."   
  
Rei nodded as she walked over and knelt in front of Minako. "We have to be strong for Luna when she wakes as well as for Mamoru-san. Luna has yet to hear the complete truth, but when she does, how do you think she is going to take it? Mamoru, who has been protecting her since day one, who cares about her, perhaps even loves her, is going to have to be told what happened."  
  
"I understand," the blonde sighed as she wiped her eyes and stood tall. "Thank you all."  
  
"So mind answering some questions for us?" inquired Rei, her eyes shining curiously.  
  
"What sort of questions?"  
  
"Well, you told us that you are Sailor Venus, or Sailor V. That you also are supposed to lead the senshi, and that Usagi was the princess, but if she is the princess, how is she also a senshi, when it is the senshi's job to protect the princess?" questioned the dark haired miko.  
  
Minako looked thoughtful for a minute before answering. "How else hide a protected person aside from amongst the ranks of her own protectors?"  
  
"That makes sense," Makoto said.  
  
"That would be because that is what I told her when her memories returned," stated Artemis as he and Luna slowly walked out of the bedroom.  
  
"Luna, should you be moving around yet?" asked Ami.  
  
"I am fine, Ami-chan. Besides, I think that we need to discuss something that is much more important than my moving around or not because I lost consciousness. Artemis has filled me in on what happened at the last battle as well as told me just who Usagi-chan truly is. We need a plan to free her from the Dark Kingdom, and I have a feeling that we are going to need Mamoru-san."  
  
"Who is out of commission right now," Makoto sighed.  
  
"Oh dear..." Luna murmured. "Any idea of how long he is going to be that way?"  
  
"There is no telling. He could wake up in a few hours or a few days. The last youma used the same sort of attack on him as it did on us, and even though it wasn't by much, he was exposed to the sound longer. And considering what I heard Zoicite say, he had each of us targeted specifically by our planetary powers. He said that he had one set just for Earth, meaning that not only was Mamoru being targeted, his representing planet was being harmed as well," Ami explained.  
  
"So Mercury is still Mercury. The walking hall of knowledge," Artemis said proudly. "I was wondering how much each of them had changed. Venus is the slightest bit more... air-headed than she was in the Silver Millennium."  
  
"Artemis... Shut up before I dye you pink," threatened the senshi of love causing the white feline to clam up.  
  
Luna laughed softly, tears forming in her eyes as she thought of how Usagi would threaten her when she tried to wake the young blonde up. Thoughts of what could be happening to young charge flashed in her mind scaring the feline beyond words.  
  
"Don't worry, Luna," said Artemis. "We will get the princess back safely."  
  
"Hai... I know. I just can't help but worry about her. What if they are hurting her or killing her? She never wanted to be a fighter. She just wanted to be a normal girl. This is one of those times in which I wish I had never given her that blasted broach!"  
  
The senshi didn't know what to say to try and calm the hurting cat. She was saying exactly what they were feeling, but didn't want to say.   
  
"Oh, no..." gasped Rei. "I just thought of something."  
  
"What is it Rei-chan?" asked Makoto.   
  
"Usagi's parents. She is supposed to go home in a little while. How are we going to explain Usagi's sudden disappearance?"  
  
"I understand that it is dangerous to reveal ourselves, but why not reveal who Usagi-chan really is? Perhaps we could think of a way to erase their memories later on... Once Usagi-chan is brought back," suggested Ami.  
  
"Iie," snapped Artemis. "Besides there are more than just her parents to think of. Usagi has to go to school, and if she doesn't questions will be raised."  
  
"We have tomorrow off so that gives us a day to think of something," said Ami. "But what happens on Tuesday?"  
  
"We go from day to day when thinking of this, but for now, we might want to start trying to at least come up with a plan to rescue the princess," Minako stated. 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email: maemaechanyahoo.com  
URL: M 15  
Summary: In one of the middle paragraphs, those of you who follow PGSM will notice an indirect reference to the new episode, Act 37.  
start reading.  
Chapters: 9/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
"Kunzite, how much progress have you made?" questioned Beryl as the silver haired shitennou stood before her.  
  
"At first, Serenity resisted the energy we were feeding her, but then, she, like all others, gave in to the Dark Kingdom's will," Kunzite reported. "She is in her chambers resting."  
  
"Good. Send her to me once she wakes," the red haired queen commanded. "I want to test her loyalty to me before sending her out to battle the sailor senshi."  
  
"Hai, Beryl-sama," said the silver haired warrior before turning and walking out of the throne room. Once outside of the chamber, a pair of arms wrapped around Kunzite's waist and Zoicite leaned against him.  
  
"What did she say about the moonbrat?" questioned the blonde.  
  
"Beryl said that she was going to test Serenity's loyalty to her. She didn't specify how, but something about the way she said it made me almost sick," Kunzite told his love.  
  
"Well, hopefully, the brat will fail and Beryl will kill her. She deserves to pay for all of the trouble she has caused. She and that pathetic cape boy," Zoicite stated as he raised a hand to her face, where a small scar remained from where Tuxedo Kamen had cut open his face with a rose during one of their battles. "Bastard. I'd like to slice him open with a few of his own roses."  
  
"Calm down, Zoicite. Don't you think that it'll be better for him to be destroyed by the very girl he has protected for so long?" inquired Kunzite.  
  
"Do you honestly think that Beryl will have enough control over the princess to do it?" asked the blonde haired shitennou. "Sailor Moon is a formidable opponent."  
  
"That is where you are mistaken. From the battles I have observed, Sailor Moon was nothing more than a weak little cry baby who depended on her senshi to protect her from the youma that have been sent to Earth. She stayed out of the way until the creatures were destroyed before destroying them. Serenity, however, could be a completely different being. She could be the courage and strength that Sailor Moon never had. Sailor Moon's weak will combined with the princess' strength could give us the advantage that we need. Besides, once her job is done, I am sure that Beryl will allow you to have fun torturing the brat to your hearts desire."  
  
Before Zoicite could reply, a small youma ran up to the two and bowed. "Kunzite-sama! The girl has awakened. I have given her what you commanded me to."  
  
"Good, then tell her to report to the throne room at once," ordered the silver haired warrior. He looked at his love who glared at the creature as it raced off to carry out its order. "Go prepare for the next battle. I'll join you once Beryl is sure of the girl's loyalty."  
  
Zoicite sighed and nodded before teleporting. A few moments later, Serenity, dressed in a perverse variation of the Sailor Moon fuku, with her pink boots coming up past her knees and to her thighs, the skirt turned from fabric to thin pieces of deep midnight blue metal that rested against her thighs. On her now blood red bow, rested a new brooch with a double edged sword design on the front shining from it's black cover. Her choker was turned the same color as her bow, and as the final signs of her full conversion, the young blonde's eyes were no longer the vibrant blue, but turned a dark blue that could match Mamoru's in color, but held such a cold hatred that whoever looked into them, would feel shivers rip through them.   
  
Kunzite smirked when he saw the once cowardly leader of the senshi stand before him with a new strength that he knew would bring the Dark Kingdom victory.  
  
"You said that Beryl wished to see me?" questioned Serenity as she stopped directly in front of him.   
  
"Follow me," Kunzite told her simply before walking once more into the throne room.   
  
"Ah, Serenity," Beryl said almost in triumph. "Welcome to the Dark Kingdom."  
  
"Why did you call me here?" the blonde asked impatiently.   
  
The crimson haired queen growled softly at the girls impertinence. "Remember who you are talking to, Serenity," warned Beryl. "I have called you here because I wish to test your loyalty to me."  
  
"How would I go about doing that, Queen Beryl?" inquired Serenity.  
  
"Why was I called here?" snapped Zoicite as he teleported into the throne room. "I was told that I would not be going back to Earth for a few days."  
  
It was in that moment that Kunzite realized just how the newest recruit was going to prove his loyalty.  
  
"No, Zoicite, you will not be going back to Earth at all," stated Beryl coldly. "You have failed me too many times. As punishment, and as well as testing of Serenity's loyalty, you must die, Zoicite." The queen smirked at the blonde general. "Serenity… Kill this miserable failure."  
  
"Hai, Beryl-sama," said the former senshi of love and justice as a pair of daggers formed in her hands.   
  
Before Zoicite could blink, a powerful blast struck him in the chest, knocking him back. Then a moment later, he felt one of the two blades pierce his chest and rip through his heart. The general looked to Kunzite, who was forced to watch with a heart wrenching look on his face. It was the last thing Zoicite saw as darkness closed in around him.  
  
Kunzite felt as if his entire world had fallen out from beneath him, and that he could do nothing about it.  
  
He heard Beryl's laughs fill his ears as hatred for both Beryl and the young blonde filled him. They would pay. He just didn't know how. Until he did, he knew that he would have to act like the good little trained monkey Beryl thought him to be.  
  
Beryl was taken aback by the utter obedience the girl showed. She had expected the blonde to hesitate before killing the general.   
  
"Very good, Serenity," praised Beryl. "Tell me, when do you think you will be ready for your first fight with the senshi?"  
  
"I feel ready now, Queen Beryl. I feel as though I could destroy the whole Earth if I wanted," stated the young warrior. She clutched her weapons and held her head up high to try and emphasize her point.  
  
"Very well," said the fiery haired queen with a nod. "Kunzite, go with Serenity to Earth. Show the senshi just who is going to win this battle!"  
  
"Do you wish for us to take a youma as well?" questioned the silver haired shitenou.   
  
"No. I want you to go as a test of Serenity's true power. If she starts to show any sign of…" Beryl hesitated for a moment as she tried to think of the right word. "Weakness, I want you to bring her back here immediately. This is just a test run to see how she fairs against the senshi. If she does as well as I think she will, then I will allow you to take a youma and destroy the senshi after a few days."  
  
"Queen Beryl, I believe that I need to keep up an appearance where I am from. In order to keep from raising suspicions. Tomorrow, I would like to be allowed to return to Earth, if only to maintain some sense of secrecy as to my identity in Tokyo."  
  
Beryl thought about the proposition for a moment. "You must have a plan to gather energy ready by tomorrow after your day at school ends. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to return."  
  
"Hai, Queen Beryl," said the blonde before she turned to Kunzite. "Shall we go, or are you just going to stand there staring at a corpse?"  
  
Serenity yelped as Kunzite stalked up to her and gripped her arm in a bruising grip. Before Beryl could reprimand him for his actions, the silver haired general teleported out of the throne room and above a schoolyard full of uniformed teenagers.   
  
"Tell me, am I holding your arm too tight?" he asked harshly as he tightened the hold on her arm.  
  
"You're still holding it?" she retorted in an attempt to belie the pain on her face. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of the general who was deriving so much pleasure from her intense discomfort.   
  
Her holder chuckled coldly as he looked out at the crowd. Kunzite had been told that the senshi who had thwarted the attempts of the Dark Agency attended this school. He smirked when he thought back to how it was believed that the girl was the princess.   
  
"Sailor Senshi! Show yourself before I destroy every person here!" shouted Kunzite causing the people below to scatter fearfully away from the buildings and the immediate area. "Including your precious princess!"   
  
"You want me, Dark Kingdom Scum!" cried out a voice from behind the two.  
  
Kunzite spun around, still tightly holding Serenity. He took note of the look of pain on her face as the skin on her arm was pulled before her body could catch up.   
  
"So the information I received was correct. The infamous Sailor V does attend this school," Kunzite chuckled as he materialized a sword in his hand and lifted it to Serenity's throat.   
  
'What the hell is this bastard thinking?!' thought Serenity as she felt the cold metal pressing against her throat  
  
"Let her go!" shouted Sailor V.  
  
"Make me," replied the silver haired general.   
  
'I can't attack him… I might hit the princess again,' V thought fearfully.  
  
"Sailor V! Tatsukete!" cried out Serenity, carrying out what she hoped was Kunzite's plan. "Attack him!"  
  
"But I might-"  
  
"Sailor V! Onegai!"  
  
The blonde warrior nodded before raising her arm in front of her and, making sure to lower the power she was putting into the attack, cried out, "Crescent Slender Beam!"   
  
A thin beam of light erupted from her fingertips and struck Kunzite's hand which was holding Serenity, forcing him to drop her. Once released, the blonde felt gravity start pulling her down.   
  
She heard a second exclamation of, "Venus Sulfur Smoke!" In an instant, the fresh air was replaced by foul smelling sulfur. The falling girl could barely breathe without gagging, until she felt something ram into her, causing her to be shoved out of the smoke, and to a relatively soft surface.  
  
"Sailor Moon, daijobu?" questioned V as Serenity rose off of her.  
  
"Hai…" replied the blonde as she rubbed her arm lightly before lifting her eyes to look at the young senshi. "I'm fine, but I'm not so sure about you though."  
  
"Nani?!" cried V before she felt and intense amount of energy smash into her midsection, causing her to fly back into a wall.   
  
The soldier of Venus felt as everything around her was swimming, but lifted her head to look at her princess. It was then that she noticed the differences in the girl's appearance.   
  
"What is the matter, Sailor V?" questioned Serenity, a smirk growing on her face as she walked up to the fallen senshi, her blades in her hands.  
  
"Serenity-hime… what has happened to you?"  
  
"I've become what everyone has wanted me to become," the odangoed blonde stated.   
  
"We didn't want you to become a psycho who went around attacking her own protectors," snapped one voice which sounded both condescending and filled with emotional pain.   
  
"Ah, yes… Sailor Mars," said the senshi formerly known as Sailor Moon. "And Mercury and Jupiter as well. All of my senshi are here. Tell me, where is Tuxedo Kamen? I would like for him to be here to see me kill each and every one of you before I kill him as well."  
  
"Usagi-chan? What happened to you?" inquired the wise ice warrior as she moved a step closer to her friend.   
  
"Stay away from me. Do not call me that. My name is Serenity. Remember that," snapped the blonde as she swung out wildly, releasing a blast of raw energy from the dagger in her hand. Before she could release another blast, she felt an arm wrap around her, binding her arms to her sides.   
  
"Do not destroy them. Not yet. Beryl only wanted to test your strength," Kunzite reminded her.   
  
"But this is the perfect opportunity, Kunzite. They are down and weak!" exclaimed the blonde as she struggled against his vise like hold.   
  
"Weak?" questioned Jupiter, her aggressive side taking hold, clouding her common sense. "Usagi-chan, I couldn't believe that Kunzite had brought you here when Venus contacted us, and now I know. You aren't the Usagi-chan I know. For impersonating my friend, you will pay."  
  
The struggling warrior watched as the green clad senshi rose to her feet slowly and summoned her attack.  
  
Serenity laughed as she saw the lightning started crackling around the brunette.   
  
"Jupiter! You can't -" exclaimed Mercury.  
  
"SUPREME THUNDER!" shouted the senshi.  
  
"Jupiter, you can't hurt meeeeeeeeeeeeee!" cried out the blonde as a bolt of lightning ripped down from the sky striking her just as Kunzite pushed away from her. Serenity was forced to her knees, her hand clutching her chest.   
  
For a moment, Serenity's fuku changed to the old form more commonly adorning the blonde, causing Jupiter to gasp in horror at her own actions.   
  
Crystalline blue eyes looked up at the senshi of thunder in pain and betrayal as Serenity struggled to her feet. "You really tried to hurt me, Jupiter. How… How could…"  
  
"Usagi-chan… oh Kami-sama…"  
  
"How could you be so stupid as to think that would defeat me?" asked the blonde as she lifted her hand and released an unfocused blast which knocked the senshi back as well as caused the walls of the school to be blown in, destroyed the structure of the building.   
  
'Please don't let anyone have been in there…' were Mercury's last thoughts before she lost consciousness.   
  
"Ami-chan!" exclaimed Mars as she hurried over to her friend. She knelt next to the unconscious senshi, and glared at the fallen senshi of the moon. "How could you do this?!" She then pulled an ofuda from her subspace pocket. She charged it with both her own spiritual abilities but her powers as the senshi of Mars as well before launching it at her former friend with a cry of, "Akuryo Taisan!"   
  
Serenity lifted her dagger and sliced the charm in two before it reached her. "Pathetic."  
  
"Serenity, let's go, now!" commanded Kunzite as he stalked up to the blonde and once again grabbed hold of her arm.  
  
"I'll see you at school senshi. Sayonara," smirked Serenity before she and Kunzite disappeared.   
  



	10. Chapter 10

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email:   
URL:   
Rating: M 15  
Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.  
Chapters: 10/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
Mamoru sat at the counter of the crown arcade, just staring into the dark inkiness of his ice cold cup of coffee he had ordered an hour before. He still couldn't believe what the senshi had told him yesterday about the blonde that he finally admitted to caring for.   
  
He wouldn't have believed that Sailor Moon could have ever been turned evil if not for the way that Mercury looked utterly betrayed when she finally regained consciousness.   
  
He hadn't even felt her like he normally would have.   
  
'I finally find her, and then she is taken away from me,' Mamoru thought as he lowered his head to the counter.   
  
"Oi, Mamoru-kun, daijobou?" questioned Motoki as he walked over to his friend.   
  
"What? Oh, hai, Motoki-kun. I've just… It's nothing. I'm just worried about someone I know. She's just been acting like a completely different person recently," he told his blonde haired friend not knowing.   
  
"Really? Do I know her?"   
  
"No… well, you do and you don't," Mamoru sighed. "Even the closest friends she had don't know her anymore."  
  
"Wow…" Motoki murmured. "Look, I'm not going to ask who the person is since this seems like something really personal, but you know you can talk to me if you ever need to discuss this."  
  
"Thanks, Motoki-kun," Mamoru said as he laid some money on the counter. "I'd better head on to class. I don't think my professor wants me missing anymore unexcused days."  
  
"All right. Ja ne, Mamoru-kun," called the blonde as he watched his friend walk out of the arcade.   
#######################  
  
Naru and Umino stood talking next to her desk when she spotted a familiar head of odangos.  
  
"Usagi-chan!" exclaimed the redhead as she and the class nerd raced over to greet her. "What are you doing back here? Ami-chan said that you were sick and might not be at school for a few days."  
  
"I don't know what she was talking about. I was out yesterday because I am staying with some people while my parents are out of town. They wanted me to be acquainted with the part of town they live in," the blonde explained.   
  
"So your parents are going to be out of town for your birthday?" Naru asked.   
  
"Hai, demo, they said that I could have a party though so," Usagi said as a plan started forming in her mind. "So I am. Not at the house though. I don't think it's big enough, and I doubt they would want to have that sort of mess."  
  
"So where is the party going to be?" Umino asked as he pulled out a notepad. He was going to get every detail, and make sure that it was known around the school within a day.   
  
"Well, a friend of mine is helping me sort that out while I am at school. I'll have the information to you by the end of lunch," Usagi stated.   
  
"Understood," said the nerd as he slipped the notepad back in his pocket. "So what's been going on recently? You usually talk with Mizuno-san or Kino-san whenever you arrive before class, as rare as that is."  
  
Usagi smirked. "Ha ha, Umino-kun. Can I not choose to be with the friends I had since I was a little girl? Besides, I think I've been spending too much time with them and ignoring you guys."  
  
"Honto, Usagi-chan?" asked Naru in almost disbelief. She never thought that she would hear Usagi say that she was spending too much time with anyone. But then again, she never thought that Usagi's parents would leave her alone on her birthday.   
  
"Hai! Um… How much time is there before class starts? You know I always show up late, so I've kinda forgotten when class acutally begins."  
  
"Class starts in twenty-four minutes," Umino stated as he pushed his glasses up onto his nose.   
  
"Arigato, Umino-kun," said Usagi before running out of the classroom and down the hall.   
  
"I wonder where Usagi-chan was heading," Naru thought aloud as she saw Ami and Makoto walk into the class.  
  
"Oh, Mizuno-san! Why did you tell us that Usagi-chan was sick?"  
  
"What do you mean, Osaka-san?" inquired the blue haired girl.  
  
"Usagi-chan was just here, telling us that she was out yesterday because she was staying with someone and learning that neighborhood yesterday," the red haired girl said.   
  
"She also said that she didn't know why you were telling people she was sick," the spectacled young man elaborated. "Oh! What do you two know about Usagi-chan's party?"  
  
"Party?" Makoto said as she looked at Ami curiously. "N-Not much. She's been pretty quiet until… Until everything is planned."  
  
"Oh," he said with a frown. "All right then! I'll find out from Usagi-chan herself."  
  
Ami and Makoto nodded before heading to their respective neighboring seats.   
  
"Mako-chan, you don't think that Usagi's birthday is a Dark Kingdom plan do you?" inquired the timid young woman in a hushed voice.   
  
"Knowing the way they've been lately, I wouldn't be surprised," replied the brunette. "We need to tell the others."  
  
Ami nodded before looking at the back of her desk nervously.   
  
"Daijobou, Ami-chan?"   
  
"H-Hai… My abdomen hurts when I bend though. The attacks Usagi used were stronger than I ever expected, but then again. Who of us ever expected her to attack any of us."  
  
Makoto sighed as she nodded and slowly took her seat. She felt the pain, but thankfully not as much as the Ami did. The girl looked as if she were going to cry as she took a seat.   
  
'I told her not to come to school today if she was still in a lot of pain,' Makoto thought with a quiet sigh,   
  
As soon as Usagi was sure that she wasn't going to be seen by any of her fellow students, she teleported to Beryl's throne room.  
  
"My queen! I believe I have a plan to gather energy for Metallia," the blonde stated proudly. "It turns out some of my friends knew that my birthday was coming up, and asked when the party was going to be."  
  
Beryl raised an eyebrow at the term friends, but allowed the girl to continue until it was evident that she wished for some sort of sign to go on from the queen. "A party? Why would you believe a party to be a good place to gather energy, Serenity?"  
  
For an instant the blonde felt a strange tug at the back of her mind, but shrugged it off.   
  
"One of the people asking was the person who makes sure that information gets all over the school. He can make sure that there are enough teenagers there to free Metallia and allow Earth to be conquered easily. All I ask for is some sort of place to hold the celebration, and a youma good enough to carry out the plan."  
  
"And who's to say that the senshi won't come and ruin the party?" Kunzite asked from where he stood behind the blonde. "There have been plenty of good plans ruined by them. Who is to say that yours won't be any different?"  
  
"How about the fact that I could have destroyed them if you hadn't stopped me," she stated smugly.   
  
"Serenity is right. I'll agree to let her carry out her plan," Beryl said with a cold smile. "Kunzite, you are to get the building prepared. Serenity, is there anywhere in particular you would like the plan to be carried out?"  
  
"There is a large building on the outskirts of the city limits. It is close enough to draw enough attention, but far enough away from two of the senshi to make sure that they get there too late," the blonde said. "It looks slightly run down, but I am sure that Kunzite here can use some of his power to make it look presentable."  
  
"Why don't you use some of your power to make it look presentable?" asked the silver haired shitenou.   
  
"Because I came up with the plan, as well as have a life I need to carry out," she told him simply. "Besides, in all honesty, you haven't been pulling your weight around here."  
  
"She's right, Kunzite," Beryl agreed.   
  
"But, Queen Beryl-"  
  
"Silence, Kunzite. I do not wish to hear any more from you. You will have the building ready for Serenity's approval by the time she returns. If it is not, you will be punished," Beryl commanded. "Is that clear?"  
  
"Hai, Queen Beryl," Kunzite said as he bowed low. He then turned, shooting the blonde a murderous glare to which she only smiled sweetly.  
  
"You have proven that your idea to return to your ordinary life was a good plan, Serenity," Beryl praised. "Let's hope it stays that way."  
  
"As you wish, Queen Beryl," Serenity said as she curtsied before teleporting back to her school.   
  
Once she was sure that she had time, the blonde walked back to her class room and took a seat. She saw the look of pain apparent on the warrior of Mercury's face and smiled cruelly.   
  
"Where did you go, Usagi-chan?" questioned Naru as she and Umino took their seats near the blonde's.  
  
"I called the people I am staying with since I had time. I asked them for some of the party details. You might want to get your notepad out, Umino-kun. I want everyone to know about this," said the blonde as the boy nodded enthusiastically and hurriedly did as she said.  
  
"It's going to be Saturday starting in the middle afternoon around four, but people can show up until midnight. No one is going to be allowed after that time. Everyone is welcome. It's going to be held at the newly renovated building in the Miyaku district. The one on city limits," Usagi explained, making sure that the nerdy boy was getting down all of the important details. It'll be clearly marked. And make sure to tell people to bring as many of their friends and siblings as they wish."  
  
"Wow. This sounds like the people you are staying with are going all out," Naru said. "I'm sure it'll be great."  
  
"Of course it'll be great. No one's going to want to go home once at the end."  
  
After Umino made sure that he had everything covered, he took his seat once more, just as Haruna walked in mumbling something about being unable to believe that she had to teach even more students. When she looked up at the class, the teacher rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing things.   
  
"Tsukino-san? You're actually on time," said the teacher with a happy smile on her face.   
  
"Well, my birthday is coming up, and the people I am staying with wanted me to be to school on time so I wouldn't be in trouble," the blonde explained simply.   
  
"I'm glad to see," the long haired woman smiled. "All right then class. I'm sure most of you have heard about how there was a school attacked yesterday. In order to make sure the students do not fall behind, our school has agreed to take on some of them. I would like you to meet the new classmates who will be joining us. Hoshino Hakuya-" A short girl with long light brown hair walked into the class with a nervous smile on her face. "-And Aino Minako."   
  
Ami and Makoto immediately volunteered the seat behind the taller brunette for the blonde while the other girl sat back towards Usagi and the others.   
  
Class went on as usual until lunchtime came. The three senshi sat together on the roof of the school building.  
  
"Was it me, or was the princess sitting in the back of the class room?" asked Minako as she slowly unwrapped her obento.  
  
"It was. She's returned to school for some reason," Makoto affirmed. "I never thought Usagi-chan would willingly come to school if she was given the choice."  
  
"She might have been doing it because Beryl ordered her to," Ami suggested.  
  
"That is probably the reason. Especially since the first thing we hear about is a party Usagi-chan is planning."  
  
"What do you mean, Kino-san?" inquired the blonde.  
  
"They mean the birthday party that Beryl is throwing for me," came Usagi's voice from the doorway of the stairwell. The three senshi immediately took up defensive positions, causing their former friend and leader to laugh. "Down, girls. If I was here to kill you, I would have already. I've simply come to extend to you, an invitation to my party. It would be rude of me not to invite my friends."  
  
"Usagi-chan…" murmured Ami.   
  
"Now, now, Mercury. What did I tell you about calling me that name? When it just the senshi and I, you are to call me by my real name," Usagi stated as she walked up to the three. "And Venus… Here I thought that you would have not had to come to school when I destroyed yours. Actually, I was hoping that what was left would collapse and crush you, but oh well. And Jupiter. I'm betting that you would love to try and fry me again." She laughed.  
  
"Serenity-hime," Minako started.  
  
Usagi flinched for a second as she felt a second, this time, painful tug at the back of her mind. "You dare to speak to me without being recognized. Such impudence is punishable by torture," said the blonde as she lifted a hand. "But instead, I think I'll reward you for it… with temporary oblivion."   
  
A second later Serenity's blade formed in her hand, and she released a wave of energy at the girls, causing Minako and Ami to lose consciousness.   
  
Makoto fought to stay awake as she looked up at the girl who had been her first friend at the school.   
  
"Since you're awake, I suppose you could take a message for me. Tell Tuxedo Kamen that he's welcome to come to my celebration as well. In fact, tell him that he has to come if he wishes to try and learn about part of his past life. That's all," Usagi finished before kneeling down. "Did you get all that?"  
  
Makoto spat in the blonde's face in response.   
  
"Beautiful," she muttered as she wiped the fluid from her face. "I suppose I'll allow you to experience the same feeling as your comrades did… Just to be nice."  
  
The blonde then brought her fist down on Makoto's jaw, knocking her unconscious.   
  
"Good afternoon, senshi. I hope you sleep well…" Serenity said before turning and walking back into the building.   



	11. Chapter 11

Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email:   
URL:   
Rating: M 15  
Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.  
Chapters: 11/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
The next day, Usagi once again went to school, smirking when she saw that Ami was absent. Makoto looked as though she could barely move, and before the day had ended, was allowed to leave by the school's nurse. All the while, Usagi absentmindedly played with a small trinket that Kunzite had told her to give to someone during the day. When she asked who, he simply told her the choice was up to her.   
  
The blonde had noted that the young brown haired girl who had joined the class the previous day was trying hard to be personable.  
  
"Tsukino-san," said the girl, breaking Usagi out of her thoughts. "I understand that yesterday was the first time which we met, but I was wondering if you would like to be a part of a study group that I am a member of after school.."  
  
"Sure," replied the blonde causing Naru and Umino to look at her wide eyed.  
  
"You're actually planning on going to a study group, Usagi-chan?" questioned Umino.  
  
"I don't see why that is so surprising. I've been trying to apply myself if you haven't noticed," the blonde stated before she turned her attention to the brown haired girl as a thought entered her mind. "I tend to be a bit of a ditz so if I don't make it, then you can keep this."  
  
The blonde handed Hakuya the small stone she had been carrying.  
  
"What is this, Tsukino-san?"  
  
"A good luck charm. Remember, you can keep it if I don't show up this afternoon."  
  
"All right," Hakuya said with an uncertain nod as she studied the small stone, wondering what could be so lucky about the object. She noticed the way it seemed to glow, but figured that it was just the way the light was hitting it. "It's pretty."  
  
"Isn't it?" asked Usagi as she smiled at the girl. "Well, time for our next class. I'll see you after school, all right?"  
  
"Hai," agreed the brunette before getting up and heading out of the classroom. She then walked towards the room where study hall was held before calling out softly and falling to her knees.   
  
Students crowded around the girl whispering softly amongst themselves, until Minako, who had sensed the spike in negative energy once the stone had been passed from Usagi to Hakuya, managed to get everyone to back a few feet away from the girl so that she could get some air.   
  
The blonde looked past a few of the people to see Usagi standing in the back with a confused look on her face before shrugging and walking the opposite direction.  
  
Slowly Minako's schoolmate rose from the ground and stood straight as she looked in the direction of the indifferent blonde.  
  
"Hakuya-chan, daijobu?" said Minako softly.   
  
She didn't get a reply as the brown haired young woman lifted her hand and released a wave of energy, knocking the teenagers in front of her back violently.   
  
"Tsukino-san!" exclaimed the girl angrily, her eyes focused solely on the odangoed blonde.  
  
Usagi slowly turned and curiously eyed Hakuya. "Hoshino-san, what is the matter?"  
  
"We need to talk," snapped the girl as she suddenly raced down the hall, grabbing the short blonde and shoving her roughly into a wall.  
  
Minako was torn as to just what she should do. She knew that the girl she had attended her old school with had to be stopped, but should she see what Usagi was going to do, and risk the girl losing her life, or try to find a way to purge whatever was controlling Hakuya from her.   
  
Sighing, Minako looked down at the wand which had appeared in her hand.   
  
"Protecting the princess is my duty, even if it means her continuing to want to kill me," she murmured softly to herself as she placed her henshin wand in her pocket and ran towards the two. She stopped a foot behind Hakuya. "Release her."  
  
"My master bids the carrier of the stone must die…" muttered Hakuya as her body began to emanate a soft blue glow. Minako felt darkness rise up in the girl and before she became too strong, grabbed Hakuya's wrist and wrenched it from Usagi's throat.  
  
"I suggest you get out of here, Tsukino-san," ordered Minako, the last two words coming out bitterly. "She seems to be after you."  
  
The blonde glared at the newest addition to the student body before heading outside before allowing her new henshin to wash over her.   
  
Seconds later, Minako came rushing out of the school followed by Hakuya, whose form was changing into that of a youma.  
  
"You might want to henshin, Venus," snapped Serenity as she flipped away from the brunette turned monster.  
  
Minako nodded and looked around to make sure that no one would see, before lifting her wand into the air and crying out, "Venus power, make up!"   
  
In a flash of orange, the blonde school girl was replaced with the senshi of the planet of love.  
  
Sailor Venus tried to figure out some way to attack the girl without hurting the human side of her which still shone through, even though that prominence was slowly lessening.   
  
"Oi, youma!" shouted Venus as she waved. "How about you leave innocent school girls alone and deal with a Sailor Senshi for a while?"  
  
The youma scoffed before releasing a powerful burst of energy at Venus, causing her to fall back a few feet. The sore muscles she had been able to ignore before began to make known the dislike of the abuse she was taking.   
  
The orange clad senshi groaned softly as she tried to rise from the ground, all the while, watching the girl who was supposed to be her princess start a battle with the youma.   
  
"Don't destroy her!" exclaimed Venus as she saw Serenity's blades.  
  
"Let her do as she pleases," came a distinctly masculine voice from above the fallen blonde. She then saw a pair of boot clad feet walk up to her and pull her to her feet.   
  
"Kunzite!" gasped Venus as she tried to wrench her arm from his grasp, but only succeeded in causing herself more pain.   
  
"I'm not here to try and hurt you, Sailor V. I am here to make you an offer. The effects of the stone within the girl will wear off, but for now, let Serenity fight for her life," stated the silver haired shitenou.   
  
"What sort of offer?" questioned Venus.  
  
"I wish to give you back your princess, if you promise that Beryl will pay for having her destroy Zoycite. I would do so myself, but my oath of loyalty to that bitch of a queen was made permanent by the shedding of a small amount my own life blood. Should I ever turn against Beryl, she can destroy me in an instant," Kunzite explained, his voice growing mournful.  
  
"I-"  
  
"Don't give me your pity. I simply wish for you and your senshi to use this party to your advantage," Kunzite told her. "While Serenity puts the plan into action at midnight, Beryl's power over her should be at it's weakest. If you and the others can find a way to reach her, then I suspect that you will be able to free her."  
  
Venus slowly nodded. "There is just one problem though. Two of us are weakened greatly, and I am almost at that point. There could only be one senshi and Tuxedo Kamen available if there are any more attacks before the night of the party."  
  
"Do not worry. Beryl is planning on conserving her energy until the party," stated Kunzite simply as he watched Serenity be thrown back into a wall by the youma. "The creature she fights now is fueled by my own energy. That is how I know it will fade away eventually."  
  
"I understand. I'll tell the senshi to relax for the next few days and simply try to come up with a way to restore Sailor Moon," the girl said as Serenity rose and attacked the youma with powerful kicks and pounding punches.  
  
"Good. I'll find you at the party before the plan takes effect. I'll make sure that Serenity suspects nothing until then," he told her. "Now I suggest that you yourself rest. You will need to be as strong as you possibly can be in order to stop this plan."  
  
"What if Beryl finds out what you have done before the night of the event?"  
  
"Then I will most likely be destroyed or have my mind wiped so that I am once again loyal to Beryl and Beryl alone," he told her as he took note of Serenity's gradual tiring. "I'll find a way to let you know if that happens, Aino Minako."  
  
Venus gasped softly when he said her civilian name. "How did…"  
  
"Serenity gave us the names of each of the senshi as well as Tuxedo Kamen. Serenity is to lead the attack against each of you should you not appear at the celebration of the girl's birth."  
  
"Thank you for helping us," the senshi of love said quietly.   
  
"I do this not to help you, but to take my vengeance for Zoycite's life."  
  
"You must have loved him dearly," Minako spoke softly.  
  
"He was my strength. He showed me there was more to existence than just serving a self obsessed queen. If he had ever asked, I would have destroyed everyone of you senshi one by one. If he had asked, I would have left the Dark Kingdom and never looked back," Kunzite told her.  
  
"Let her go!" came Tuxedo Kamen's voice from the top of the school.  
  
Venus looked up to the caped figure before once more looking at Kunzite and nodding. She then watched as the youma suddenly stopped attacking and doubled over, slowly reverting back to the girl it once was.  
  
"Remember what I have told you about the plan," Kunzite said before teleporting away, leaving Venus to almost hit the ground if not for the masked man.   
  
"Venus, daijobu?" he asked as he supported her. The blonde nodded gratefully before looking over to Serenity, who had finally fallen to the ground, physically exhausted.  
  
"Usagi…" murmured Tuxedo Kamen as he slowly left Venus' side and drifted over to the dark senshi.  
  
Serenity forced herself to look up when she heard footfalls approaching. For a moment, her features grew pained before they softened considerably.   
  
"Endymion?" she whimpered softly. He nodded as he knelt before her and gently caressed her face with one hand, and took one of hers with his other.  
  
"I'm here, Serenity…" he whispered gently.  
  
"Endymion, I can't stay in control for much longer. Please, help me…" she pleaded weakly as she covered his hand with her own. "Tatsukete, Endymion. I- I'm so…"  
  
Her hands fell from his as she collapsed before she could finish her sentence. In the following instant, Sailor Moon disappeared in a flash of purple light.   
  
"Iie…" he murmured as he looked at his empty hands. "Serenity… Usagi… Iie…"  
  
"We… We need to get out of here," Venus said from behind him. "There is something that I need to tell you as well as the other senshi."  
  
Tuxedo Kamen looked back at her for a moment before slowly nodding and standing. He knew that she could not make it very far on her own so he carefully lifted her in his arms and vacated the premises as fast as he could.   
  



	12. Chapter 12

Hehe!! Thanks to all those who reviewed. I know that I don't say it all that much, but I love knowing that people like what I write. Gives me inspiration and a feeling that I am making someone's reading experience a little more enjoyable when I see that someone likes what I write. Anyways, kisses and hugs to all those who reviewed! Ok… I've been listening to too much stuff from Sheki Music. Oh well!  
  
Title: A Simple Knock  
Author: Maetel  
Email:  
URL:  
Rating: M 15  
Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.  
Chapters: 12/16  
Status: Incomplete  
Year Completed: N/A  
  
"So Kunzite wants to help us free Usagi-chan?" questioned Rei as she and the other senshi as well as Mamoru sat in the living room of Ami's mother's apartment.  
  
"Hai," said Minako as she looked down at the bandaged ankle which she was longing to scratch. Turning her attention back to her fellow senshi who was sitting at the end of Ami's couch, next to the feet of the recuperating blue haired girl. "The party Ami and Makoto were told about. He said that the power controlling the princess would be at it's weakest."  
  
"I don't think it's actually the princess being controlled," Mamoru interjected. "I think that it is Usagi who is under their control."  
  
"Usagi is the princess. How can the princess be free while our friend is under the control of the Dark Kingdom?" questioned Makoto from where she leaned back against a wall.  
  
"The two sets of brain waves I was detecting on the Mercury computer," Ami murmured.  
  
"The ones you thought were Usagi and possibly a second set which emerged while she was Sailor Moon?" questioned Rei.  
  
"I remember you telling us about that. You started noticing them more after Usagi hurt her head during a battle. Are you saying that the second set belonged to the princess?" Makoto inquired.  
  
"It's not just the injury that could have caused it. Usagi's broach was cracked as well. It's not… It's quite likely that it could have done something to whatever has been keeping our memories held back," the blue haired girl explained.  
  
"That would make sense," Artemis said. "The power which could have been released might have been enough to awaken the princess sleeping within. It was enough to alert Venus and I to the fact that something had happened when Luna had tried to repair it."  
  
"But that isn't our main concern right now. We need to try and see if what Kunzite said was the truth and if so, what do we do?" Mamoru stated. "Beryl's powers over Usagi may be weakened but how do we heal her?"  
  
"The princess. We saw that she had regained control during the last fight," Minako proposed. "If she can retain control then…"  
  
"The personality which Usagi possess now could possibly be too strong for that to work for very long," Rei said with a sigh. "When we first went against her, she was completely different. She argued with what Kunzite had said. She had destroyed an entire school. We are thinking on the terms that there is a shred of Usagi left in this version. She may look like our friend. She may act like our friend around others. She may say our names. That does not make her the same girl."  
  
"Then we need the crystal," Luna sighed.  
  
"But the crystal was supposed to be revealed once the princess was, wasn't it, Luna?" questioned Makoto.  
  
The kuro neko nodded solemnly. She looked down thoughtfully as she tried to come up with some sort of a way to free her young charge.  
  
"I have a feeling that whether or not the party is a trap, it is going to be our best shot at getting Usagi-chan back," said Mamoru. "Where else is she going to be surrounded by influences of the life she's lived without being blocked off from it by walls? Kunzite might be right in saying that the spell Usagi is under might be at it's weakest when-"  
  
Endymion… he heard a very familiar voice whimper in side his mind. Tatsukete… Onegai.  
  
"Mamoru-san, daijobu?" questioned Rei when she saw the look of surprise and worry grow on the dark haired man's face.  
  
"I- It's…" he stammered as he tried to think of some way to tell them that he was hearing the princess' voice in his head.  
  
Beryl continues to think that her warrior is in charge and has given me permission to go to Earth for now. Endymion, I-I need to see you. Usagi is weakened for now, and this might be the only chance I have… Her voice cracked with barely suppressed fear.  
  
'What about the other senshi?' he thought. He wasn't sure if she heard the thought, but figured that since she was sending her thoughts to him why couldn't it work the other way around.  
  
No! she exclaimed. If the senshi are there then Beryl might subject me to that machine which she used to coerce Usagi… I don't want to go through that… Please…  
  
'I… I understand,' he told her silently.  
  
At sunset then… At the area in which I saw you earlier. I… If I can, I'll try to keep Kunzite from following me, Serenity informed him as the voice in his mind grew faint.  
  
"Mamoru-san, what's happening?" questioned Luna.  
  
"It's the princess. I-I need to go see her," he finally said. "None of you can come though. She said that-"  
  
"How can you tell that it isn't a trap?" asked Ami. "Usagi-chan, or Serenity as she is now, has never shown any sign of telepathic ability. How are you sure that Beryl has not influenced Usagi to use who she is to get to you?"  
  
"Because she called me Endymion," he said simply as he looked at his watch. There was an hour until sunset and he knew that the school was a good twenty minute walk. "I've got to go. You are all to stay here unless I call."  
  
Minako stood up shakily and walked in front of him. "Demo, Mamoru-san-"  
  
"Serenity herself asked me to come on my own. Are you going to go against the wishes of your princess, Venus, leader of the senshi?"  
  
The blonde sighed as her shoulders slumped. He had made his point.  
  
"We are to stay here, senshi. Mamoru is going to go on his own. If any of you chooses to go after him, I will not hesitate to execute my power as leader and strip each of you of your powers for a short while," Minako commanded softly.  
  
"But-" started Makoto.  
  
"You heard her, Jupiter," said Artemis. "Unlike the rest of you, Minako has her full memories and knows how to carry out her threats." 'Even if not even I know how to carry out those threats,' he thought curiously.  
  
'At least he didn't point out I was bluffing,' Minako thought thankfully.  
  
"Arigato," Mamoru said before he walked past the blonde and out through the door.  
  
"Luna, Artemis, I want you two to follow him. If there is any sort of trouble, call us," Minako told the two felines.  
  
"Are you sure, Mina-chan?" inquired Artemis.  
  
"Mamoru-san said the senshi were not to accompany him. He never said that the two cats in the room could not trail him," she replied simply as she walked over to the window and opening it in time to see Mamoru walking out of the building. "Get going you two."  
  
The two cats nodded before running and leaping out onto the nearby fire escape.  
  
"How did you know that we wouldn't go with him even though you threatened to take our powers?" Rei questioned after a few minutes.  
  
"One, Usagi is your friend. Two, Serenity is your princess. Three, I pulled that threat out of my ass too many times during the Silver Millennium. I knew that you would fall for it. Your friendship with the princess was strong, but your will to protect her was stronger. You would have given life and limb to make sure that she was protected. That protection meant also that you would give anything to make sure that she was happy. There were too many times that you allowed her to sneak off to Earth to see Endymion… even if it was for only a few minutes."  
  
"How could you be sure that we would still be the same as we were back then?" Ami asked.  
  
"It is simple I suppose. Mercury is still the carrier of knowledge of all things. Jupiter is still the protective strength who was ordained by her very bloodline to be the protective elder spirit sibling to all of the senshi just as her ancestors were. Mars is still the one who speaks to the spirits. Serenity is still the kind hearted girl who sees the good in others. I… I'm the… I'm probably the one most changed. Artemis likes to point that out whenever I screw up… I guess this is just one of the times when he couldn't think of one without having each of you turn against him if only for a small amount of time," Minako explained with a sigh. Her blue eyes shone dimly before she blinked back the sadness that crept into them. "We need to try and think of a way to get the princess back."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Mamoru stood where he had last seen his love. He had arrived at the school almost an hour before, and had been waiting for almost thirty minutes. He had on some level expected her to be late. That was what had caused him to fall for the blonde in the life she now lived.  
  
"Endymion?" came the soft voice of the blonde haired beauty. Slowly, he turned and gazed at her beauty. She was wearing the school uniform, and her hair was slightly disheveled as though she had been lying down recently.  
  
"It's really you," he breathed quietly.  
  
Slowly, Serenity nodded as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. She breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of roses and the aftershave he wore. Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of the last time she had seen him in their old life, and how they were once more being ripped apart.  
  
"Endymion…" she sobbed softly as one of her hands clutched to the shirt he was wearing.  
  
Gently, the dark haired young man wrapped his arms around the trembling blonde and tenderly kissed the top of her head.  
  
"I'm right here," he whispered to her softly, unsure of just what to say exactly. "Talk to me, Serenity. Please."  
  
"I've been so scared, Endymion. I've been trying to stop her from hurting the others without revealing myself, but I've not been strong enough. She… You have to stop us…"  
  
"Serenity, what… What are you saying?" he asked incredulously as he looked down at his love.  
  
"This is why I needed to see you. You don't know what she has planned for the night of her birthday celebration, and if fate works out the same way, this will be the night in which Beryl wins. Beryl… She and Usagi are planning to take the energy of everyone who comes to the celebration. And after that is done, and Beryl's master is freed… She plans on killing Usagi and taking over this planet. You have to stop us before that happens. I… I don't want to hurt anyone," Serenity said as she buried her face in the material of his shirt.  
  
"Serenity, we are coming up with a plan to save you and stop all of this. We aren't going to let Beryl win. We will be together." His voice was filled with a quiet confidence that the blonde needed.  
  
"No… You don't understand. That night, Usagi is planning on using every ounce of her power to make sure that the energy makes it to the Dark Kingdom. That includes… That includes the power of this," she explained as she pulled far enough away to allow her hand to move between them to reveal the ginzuishou. "I need… I need you to take this and… Give it to Venus. She is the only one who might be able to use it, or at least destroy it. Usagi will still be able to control it to an extent but as long as someone with the blood of the royal family of the moon carries it, that person will have more control over it."  
  
"What if we cannot destroy it?" Mamoru asked.  
  
"Then…" Serenity struggled with the words as she tried to come up with a way to put her thoughts to words. "Then you are to use it to snuff out my existence. Usagi and I are too much of a liability should we not be freed by the time needed."  
  
"Can you not rid yourself of the evil within your body? She darkness controlling Usagi?"  
  
The blonde shook her head as tears once again fell down her cheeks. "I'm not strong enough yet. I… I don't think I can. Even now I struggle to maintain control as Usagi begins to awaken within me."  
  
"What about… What if you try to do it before the plan is set into motion? What if you manage to obtain control? Could you do it if the senshi and I were there to give you our strength?" he asked, his thoughts turning desperate as the idea of having to kill his love filled his mind.  
  
"I… I'm not sure. But Usagi would have to be completely unconscious. I would need complete control over myself in order to try and rid myself of the evil placed within me," Serenity admitted. "I… I don't know if you could do that. It took fighting something that was as strong as she was to do so this time."  
  
"We'll find a way," Mamoru stated surely before he saw his love's face turn from one of slight hope to inner struggle.  
  
"You must go," she ordered painfully.  
  
"Serenity, are you going to be all right?" he asked as his hands gently yet firmly gripped her shoulders.  
  
"Yes, but… take the ginzuishou and go," she told him as she gave him the crystal quickly and shoved him away.  
  
Mamoru realized just what was happening and knowing that it would be the last chance before the next battle, he pulled Serenity against him and crushed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss.  
  
As he pulled away, he whispered, "I love you."  
  
The blonde's eyes shone with tears as she looked at him.  
  
"I love you, Endymion," she told him softly before he felt something go through him, and an instant later, he found himself standing in the living room he had left less than two hours ago.  
  
He fell to his knees as he once again felt the weight of the world bearing down on him. He looked down at the priceless gem in his hand before he felt sobs rip through him.  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Title: A Simple Knock

Author: Maetel

Email: M 15+

Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.

Chapters: 13/16

Status: Incomplete

Year Completed: N/A

Mamoru stood outside of the Hikawa Jinja waiting for the four girls within as they prepared to go to Usagi's little celebration by having Rei consult the great fire for guidance. She had been staring into its depths for the past hour for some sign that their princess was going to be brought back to their side without having to kill her in the process.

With a sigh, Makoto walked up behind the older fighter and placed a hand on his shoulder. His instincts told him to lash out should the person be an enemy, but managed to maintain control as he turned around and looked at the younger brunette.

"What did the fire… well, say?" he asked solemnly.

"It gave no information," Makoto admitted softly.

"We are on our own for this one. We are just going to have to take care of this one blind," Rei said as she walked up to the two, followed closely behind by Ami and Minako.

"Mizuno-san, are you sure that you are up to this?" Mamoru inquired as he looked at the pale face of the blue haired girl.

"I am a senshi. My first concern is the welfare of the princess. I would be failing my duty if I did not come tonight," she answered.

Mamoru sighed, knowing that he probably would have answered the same way. "All right, but if you start to feel any sort of pain or discomfort then let one of us know."

"I will," Ami promised. "But if the time comes, then I will fight to save Usagi-chan, pain or no."

"We understand, but we just want you to be careful, Ami-chan," Rei told the blue haired girl before looking at Mamoru. "How long do we have to get there?"

"Midnight is in less than two hours, and we need to make sure that there aren't any youma who might prove to be a problem. That and Minako still has Kunzite to meet up with if he hasn't been discovered by Beryl."

"And just where is this place? I mean, I know where it is, but how long of a walk?" questioned the raven haired miko.

"A twenty minute walk at a normal pace," Mamoru answered. "I timed it after my classes were over this afternoon."

"All right, so that should give us a little over an hour and a half for Minako-chan to find Kunzite and take care of any youma that might be there," Ami said as she rapidly typed in the information into her mini-computer.

"That doesn't give us much time to plan anything if Kunzite isn't there, or if he's been turned and now setting us up," Makoto stated as she looked at the others. "We might have to take Usagi-chan out before the plan goes into effect."

"Mako-chan… please mind your words," the black feline admonished gently as she strolled up behind the group.

"Luna is right. We do not want to 'take Usagi-chan out' before the plan. We need her weakened or unconscious," Minako corrected. Artemis took this as a sign that his young charge was once again slipping into the role of leader of the senshi, and hoped that it wasn't going to be too much for her to handle.

"Just be careful, girls," he told them gently. "Tonight will be one of the more important battles you will face. Even if the princess gains control, we're going to have to make sure that she maintains control."

The four girls nodded before heading towards what could be the scene for the hardest battle of their young lives with Mamoru leading the way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the group arrived Minako looked around for the silver haired general, and spotted him in one of the dimly lit corners of the room. "Everyone, try to find the princess. I see someone I need to talk to."

She left the others and headed over towards the figure with platinum blonde hair and looked up at him. He glared down at her. "I said that I would find you. How did you know that I had not been discovered?"

Minako swallowed hard, but did not lower her gaze. "We do not have a great deal of time, and I wanted to make sure that the plan was going to work. Might I ask what you were planning on doing?"

Kunzite raised an eyebrow at the girl's attitude. "I have done my part. An object has been planted on her that will make sure that she does not pose as much of a threat during this battle by draining constantly draining small amounts of her energy. Not enough to notice at first, but it should be enough to make her beatable with all of the senshi attacking."

Minako nodded once before a curious look took its place on her face. "Might I ask what you are going to be doing after this? Surely, your queen will know of your aiding us. Won't you be putting yourself in danger by returning to the Dark Kingdom once this is all over?"

Kunzite's face was expressionless as he answered, those his voice was laced with pain as he answered, "I'll be joining Zoicite before I return to the Dark Kingdom. I am not going to be like Jadeite and doomed to eternal slumber, never finding the peace I wish for. After this battle, if I am not destroyed by Serenity, then I will end my own life."

Minako's first reaction was to try and talk the man before her out of his actions, but when she saw the resolve in his eyes, she knew that it would be wise to hold her tongue. She knew how he felt, for every one of her warrior instincts would lead her to do the same. With a respectful nod, Minako said, "I hope you find the peace you wish to attain with him in the next life."

Kunzite said nothing as she turned and walked away. He simply watched the stage where a band of disguised youma stood playing music for the humans to dance to, all the while, wondering just how the four remaining senshi would manage to defeat their former leader.

After leaving Kunzite, Minako quickly found the others and saw that Mamoru had broken off from the group.

"Where did Mamoru-san go?" asked the blonde as she stepped up behind Rei.

"Serenity found us, and she wanted to talk to him. They've been up towards the stage since you talked to Kunzite, I think," Ami said. "We lost track of them when they entered the crowd."

Minako sighed and shot Rei a smile that was both grateful and worried when she said, "I'm sure that Mamoru-san is fine. She has made a move against any of us yet, and I'm doubting that she is going to hurt him. I know that if she tries, the princess will do something to stop her."

"Arigato, Rei-chan," Minako replied as she looked up to the stoic brunette, but was unsure of what to say. What does one say to one who felt as though she had failed her duty so soon after joining the team?

Sighing, the blonde looked out through the crowd, waiting for Mamoru to return.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mamoru felt the tug on his wrist finally cease when he and Serenity were in front of the stage, away from the senshi, but also away from a great deal of people, most of whom were at tables or talking to each other in small groups around the room.

"Aren't they all pathetic?" she asked, her tone bored. "They come because they hear it's going to be the party of the year. They never realized that they could be in danger…"

"Why would they have to believe that they are in danger? The don't know about your alliance to Queen Beryl, or that Sailor Moon is now their worst enemy," Mamoru stated, his voice cold, unknowingly causing a wrenching pain in the blonde's chest with his words.

She glared at him, though without the same fire behind her gaze that she had when she looked at the senshi. "I hold no alliance with Beryl. She is a means to an end. I fight for myself, and the power I can attain. She fights for a planet and for the one person she could never hope to gain. Beryl is weak, and the Dark Kingdom needs a strong ruler."

"And just who do you have in mind for ruling the Dark Kingdom?" questioned Mamoru, even though he could guess the answer she was about to give.

"Why the only person capable of ruling that place with an iron fist. The only one capable of controlling the power of Metallia. Me, and I want to offer you something," she said.

"What? A place by your side?" he asked.

"See, I knew that you were smart. Even though you do continue to fight with those weaklings," the blonde said as she lifted her hand to the side of his face. "We would make the Dark Kingdom into a true force to be reckoned with in the Universe. No one would dare come against such power at there would be with the two of us as rulers, not even the senshi."

Mamoru looked down into the eyes of the young warrior, and sighed. "There is only one person I have ever wanted to rule anything with, and though you look like her, though you sound like her, in your heart, I know that you aren't her. Not now. She may be buried deep within you, but while you are like this… A warrior for the Dark Kingdom, I can't."

Serenity's face became one of regret, anger, and disgust. "You would choose the undisciplined defenseless little wretch I was before? You are a fool! To think… I wished for you to be my king, but now… You will watch all of your precious weaklings die before I kill you myself, Tuxedo Kamen."

Just as she turned to walk away, Mamoru grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back to him. He wrapped his arm around her to keep her from struggling.

"Usagi-chan, listen to me. I know that somewhere inside you is a pure heart. Somewhere inside of you…" He stopped unsure of what he should tell her exactly. He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder. "Somewhere inside of you is the girl who I picked on because I didn't know how to show how I was actually attracted to her. Somewhere inside of you is the klutz who I wound up falling for. Please, Usagi-chan… come back to me…"

Meanwhile the blonde was frozen by the small bolts of electricity that were ripping through her from every point that her body was in contact with his. She'd never felt anything like what she was feeling at that moment. She knew that she should have been fighting against him, struggling to get away, but she couldn't bring her body to move away from his, and when she felt his head touch the skin of her shoulder, she almost started crying. Everything that she had been taught by the Dark Kingdom was going completely against what she was feeling. She was confused, and she both hated and loved the feeling. Before she knew what she was saying, the word, "Tatsukete," escaped her lips.

Mamoru's eyes widened when he heard her speak and he quickly turned her around to look at him. "Usagi-chan?" he questioned softly as he looked into her eyes. He felt himself growing hopeful as he saw the conflicting emotions in her eyes, and felt the bond he shared with her, struggling to reawaken. "It's me… Mamo-baka… Fight this… Please…"

The blonde looked up at him, and felt something at the back of her mind. "Mamo-chan…" she whispered before she heard Beryl's voice screeching in her mind. She roughly wrenched herself away from him as she felt the strange sensation fade. She glared at him as her eyes once again became like a stone wall. "Get away from me! You rejected me for a group of weaklings. You will pay for that decision. You will not stop the Dark Kingdom from succeeding."

Mamoru watched as she strode away and back into the crowd. He looked almost happy as he realized that maybe, Beryl's hold over his love wasn't as strong as the evil queen had hoped. He stood there for a moment before he felt a hand touch his arm. He turned and saw a concerned pair of emerald eyes looking at him.

"Mamoru-san, daijobu?" asked Makoto. "Where's Usagi?"

"She just walked off, but there is something I need to tell you and the other senshi," he told the brunette, who nodded and lead the way.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: A Simple Knock

Author: Maetel

Email: M 15+

Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.

Chapters: 14/16

Status: Incomplete

Year Completed: N/A

"So, you're saying that Usagi-chan herself had almost broken through Beryl's reprogramming," Ami inquired. "That is great news, but how can we be sure that she's going to be able to repeat that process when the time comes. And what if she can't purge herself of the influences completely?"

"I believe that she can. At least enough to weaken herself and allow the princess to gain control," said Mamoru. "She just needs some help."

Minako nodded and cleared her throat. "I think Kunzite might be the one who is going to be aiding us in that respect. He told me that he planted something on her that is draining her energy. Maybe it's draining the darker energy first. Taking back that which was put into the princess as a means of recovering the energy for the Dark Kingdom."

It was at this moment that Rei began to see the blonde's past role as the leader of the senshi shining through. "I never would have thought of that. It would have seemed that the purity would have been what was drained first, but… I suppose that makes more sense."

Minako shook her head. "You would have, but right now, your memories of your training when you were in the Silver Millennium are still blocked, but we shouldn't be worrying about that right now. The time is getting closer. There is a little over half an hour left before the plan is set into effect. Are you all ready?"

The three other senshi and Mamoru nodded before the four girls moved to go and transform. Once they had, they all went their separate ways: Rei and Minako taking two corners of the stage near the front, while Ami and Makoto managed to make their way to the rear, and Mamoru stood watching the front of the stage, all the while keeping an eye on Usagi.

He noticed that she was finally appeared to be feeling the effects of Kunzite's treachery, and hoped that she would have enough energy for the princess to be able to stop what was going to take place. As time drew near, Usagi moved to the stage, stumbling, and muttering curses softly until she made her way on stage.

"Minna!" she said into the microphone she'd gotten from the stand which the singer of the band had been using. "I'd like to thank you all for coming, but you see, there is another reason why you are all here. Today is more than just my birthday, and I am sure that all of you are wondering what else we could be here celebrating. Well, I'll end your wait. Tonight is the night in which the Dark Kingdom will take over this planet, and each and everyone of you will be helping make it possible!"

"What are you talking about?" shouted one voice, that seemed vaguely familiar to the blonde, but not enough to make her look out to see who it belonged to, as a great deal of the crowd started to race towards the exit, only to find the way blocked.

"Your energy is going to be given so that this world may belong to the Dark Kingdom. Is there anyone who objects to this?" she asked, with a mocking smile as she watched the crowd.

"You know there is," shouted the voice of Sailor Venus as she moved out of the shadows of the music equipment and onto the stage, with the other senshi following suit.

"Serenity- Usagi-chan, you've got to snap out of it!" cried out Mercury.

"We don't want to hurt you, but if we have to…" started Mars before Jupiter jumped in.

"We will not hesitate to bring you down!"

The blonde looked around at the four and laughed. "I've defeated each of you before. What makes you think that you can stop me now!" she mocked as the darkened fuku of the moon senshi materialized replacing the tank top and skirt she had been wearing, her daggers forming in her hand.

The musicians began to take their true form but were quickly destroyed by separate attacks coming from the white haired general. "Make your move!" he commanded.

Venus looked to the other senshi, nodding once before looking to her princess. "We didn't want it to come to this, but I'm afraid it has to." She then lifted her hand as the others prepared their attacks starting with two roses that came flying from the crowd, slicing into the sides of Sailor Moon, causing the girl more pain than she had ever expected, even in her weakened condition. She never had time to block out the sensation before the attacks started.

"Shabon Spray!"

"Crescent Beam!"

"Fire Soul!"

"Supreme Thunder!"

The three strongest attacks struck the blonde while the freezing mist formed around the blonde. She cried out in pain, as Tuxedo Kamen, who had transformed during the mad rush for a way out, stood ready to get any of the senshi out of the way should Serenity lash out.

After a moment, the group stepped closer to the unmoving figure that was hunched over on the ground, breathing harshly as she clutched to her sides.

"Serenity?" said Tuxedo Kamen as he knelt down in front of the blonde. He reached out to gently place a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't!" ordered Venus. "We can't be sure who is in control right now. If it is the Dark Kingdom's warrior then she might still be strong enough to attack you."

"No…" whimpered the figure in question as she looked over to Venus with pained silver eyes. "A-Arigato, Venus…"

"Princess," whispered Tuxedo Kamen as he reached out to the blonde, only to see tears fall from the eyes of the fallen warrior. His heart almost broken when he saw her cough, causing small droplets of blood to stain her light pink lips. "No… Princess…"

"I'm fine, Endymion," she assured him with a weak smile.

"And that is where the five of you went wrong!" snapped Kunzite as he appeared above the group. "She should be dead, and she soon will be, no thanks to you fools." He then raised his hand and gathered energy in his palm before hurling it at the group. The four girls lunged out of the way as Tuxedo Kamen quickly gathered his princess in his arms and rushed her out of the path.

"I hate to put more strain on you when you're already weakened, but do you think you have enough strength to use the crystal," he looked over his shoulder to see Sailor Venus and Mars launching separate attacks at their opponent. "The senshi are still weakened from their earlier battles earlier this week, and I'm not sure how long they can hold out against a foe as strong as Kunzite."

Serenity looked at him nervously before looking to see her senshi fighting. "I'll try my best," she told him as he handed her the crystal. "But first…" She clenched her fist around the small stone and was quickly bathed in a brilliant silver light. As the light faded, Mamoru saw that her clothing had changed from the warped fuku which she had been wearing to the standard outfit which Sailor Moon always wore, and then to a long white and gold dress. She trembled as the power faded, but smiled at him nonetheless. "I am ready."

"I'll distract him, but please, be careful," he told her before lightly kissing the crescent moon which now adorned her forehead.

She nodded, forcing back the tears that came to her eyes. She knew that at that moment, she didn't have the strength to completely control the crystal without draining her lifeforce completely, but she didn't have the heart to tell him. "I love you," she whispered softly as she watched him rush into the heart of the battle, launching multiple steel tipped roses at the light haired general.

"You want Serenity, Kunzite, you're going to have to get through me first," shouted Tuxedo Kamen.

"I see no threat in you, but if you insist," snarled the general as a sword appeared in his hand. "Sayonara, Tuxedo Kamen."

Serenity wasted no time in standing up and raising the crystal above her head, focusing on its power. "I think not, Kunzite."

"Nani?" he snarled as he turned to see… his former rival? Standing in her place truly was the princess of the long dead kingdom of the moon, and in her hand was the crystal for which Beryl had been demanding Zoicite to find. A blinding light began to pour from the small stone, and the silver haired man cried out in pain as he felt himself being ripped apart.

Venus watched as Kunzite was destroyed before looking to her princess, who was growing weaker with each passing moment. "Hime! You must stop! The enemy is gone! Any more and you'll die!"

"But your identities could be in danger," replied the girl softly. "What has happened here tonight must be erased from the minds of those who witnessed it."

"No, princess, that doesn't matter!" exclaimed the normally placid Mercury. "We just want you to stay with us. Let the whole world find out who we are!"

"I cannot allow that to happen," Serenity told them. "You all-" Before she could finish her sentence, Tuxedo Kamen tackled the young blonde, breaking her concentration, causing the flow of power to stop.

"You cannot allow their identities to be discovered, but I will not allow you to throw away your life," said the dark haired protector as he looked down at the princess.

She smiled tiredly at him. "Always the same…" she murmured as she lifted her hand to his face. "All right. But… We need to talk…" She slowly drifted off into an exhausted slumber.

"We will," he said softly before looking up to Mercury who was presently scanning the girl using the visor and minicomputer. "Is she going to be all right?"

The blue haired senshi breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "She just exhausted herself. A couple of days of rest, and she should be fine. Thank you for stopping her."

Tuxedo Kamen nodded as he saw that the room had all but cleared out. "I'm guessing the exits are open, meaning we should probably get out of here."

"You can take her to the temple if you want," Rei suggested as she allowed her henshin to fade, followed by the rest of them, as she looked at Usagi, whose outfit had returned to the clothing she had been wearing earlier in the evening.

"Thank you, Rei-chan, but I'm gonna take her somewhere that I can keep an eye on her. I want to be there when she wakes up," he told the miko. "I'll call you all when she wakes up, but it's starting to get cold, and she's not really…"

Minako nodded. "Take good care of the princess. I want to get to know her when she is feeling better. She seems like a really great person from what I've heard about her."

"She is," Mamoru said as he looked to the brunette who was shooting him looks of obvious distrust. "And don't worry. I'll be a gentleman. If I hurt her in any way, you can show me what a lightning rod feels like."

Makoto nodded before looking at the sleeping girl. "Tell her that when she's feeling up to it, I'll cook her anything she wants, as much as she wants."

Mamoru nodded and smiled at the brunette. "Good night," he said to the four before heading towards his apartment.

"Do you guys think we should send Luna or Artemis to keep an eye on the two?" asked Rei.

It was Minako who answered with a shake of the head. "She's safer with him than with any of us. She always has been, as much as I hate to admit it. Besides, after all of this, I think the one thing that is going to help the princess recover faster than anything is seeing his face. That and if he has any memory of his time on the moon, he really does know what it feels like to face the brunt of our attacks. He made the mistake of trying to sneak up to visit her a couple of times."

Ami raised an eyebrow at the blonde's words, but shook her head. "We had better be getting home, Minna. It is getting late, and we don't know when she is going to wake up."

"Ami-chan is right. Besides, I'm sure ojii-chan is wondering where I am," said Rei before she started heading towards the temple.

"Good night, you two," said Makoto before heading towards her own apartment.

"Minako-chan, you don't look like you're really wanting to go home," said the blue haired genius as she looked at the girl.

"I don't really want to," she admitted. "My mom and I haven't really gotten along since I became Sailor V, and I don't think she would appreciate me coming in this late."

Ami nodded and thought for a moment before suggesting, "Why not spend the night at my place? My mom is away, so she won't mind. Besides, I don't think Mamoru-san has your number, so it might be best if you did."

"Arigato, Ami-chan," replied Minako before she and Ami started on their way.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: A Simple Knock

Author: Maetel

Email: M 15+

Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.

Chapters: 15/16

Status: Incomplete

Year Completed: N/A

When Serenity awoke, she found herself lying in a strange bed with dark blue sheets and light cascading in through a balcony doorway. The last thing she remembered was Endymion causing her to lose concentration when she had tried to erase her senshi's identities from the memories from the people who had gone to Usagi's party.

She sat up and looked around to see that the room was empty of people, but on a nearby chair rested a green jacket that looked slightly worn, but nice nonetheless. It was then that she remembered where she had seen it before.

"Endymion," she whispered. "This must be his chamber, but where is…"

She was cut off when the door to the room opened and Mamoru walked in.

"I thought I heard something coming from in here," he said softly, wondering just who was in control right at the moment. He cast those thoughts aside and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"The crystal's effects are still weighing down upon me, but I feel fine otherwise," she told him with a small smile. "Though I think I am doing better than my modern day counterpart. She's… She's no longer under the Dark Kingdom's control, but she remembers all that she had done. Whenever she comes close to awakening, I can feel how much guilt she feels when she recalls her actions, but she usually drifts back into slumber before I have a chance to talk to her."

Mamoru nodded and sighed. Everything that he was thinking was contradicting itself. He'd been searching for his princess for so long, and yet when he finally found her, within the very person he'd grown attracted to, why did he suddenly just want the girl she was before he found out the truth. He didn't want the princess, and yet he wanted the very person she was born to be in this life.

Serenity sensed his distress and reached out to place a comforting hand on his. "You've cared for her longer than you care to admit, haven't you?" she asked softly.

Mamoru nodded and looked down. "I more than care for her honestly. I love her. I don't know how long I have, but I know that I do. For all of this time, I've been looking for you, and yet… It's confusing. I've cared for her in some way or another ever since I first met her when I was in the hospital. I'd all but forgotten about her until I felt her test bounce off of my head a few months ago, and now… I've never been so scared of losing anyone in my life, despite how I've tried to distance myself from her as much as I possibly could."

Serenity nodded. "So that explains the term odango atama. That seems to be the one thing that floats from her to myself, that and what I am guessing is your name in this life, Mamoru?"

"That's right," he told her. "I have one question, if you do not mind my asking. Is there anyway that the two of you are ever going to be able to… Well… You are separate beings in one mind, but that's not the safest way for you to be. Especially with the battles that I know are going to be coming up in the future."

"I'm guessing that there is. It is only logical isn't it? Usagi is going to be the one to determine that in the long run though," the young princess said. Her spirits had been sinking ever since his admission, and yet she understood his reasons. He hadn't fallen in love with her, but with her Tokyo born counterpart instead, and in a way, that was for the best. At least he wasn't in love with her out of obligation, and in a way, that would have been a major concern.

Mamoru noticed that the blonde had gone silent and looked at her, concern etched into his features. "Daijobu?"

She smiled at him and nodded, though her eyes didn't reflect the emotions that the smile was supposed to convey. "I'm fine, Mamoru, though I am starting to wonder how long I was asleep," she told him before her stomach growled softly.

"I was wondering about that. You've been asleep for the past forty eight hours, and I was expecting you to ask for food the moment you waked up," he told her. "Just give me a few minutes to get something ready and call the girls and then I'll come back and get you."

"The girls?" questioned Serenity.

"The senshi. They've been calling every so often to make sure that you were all right, and to ask why I hadn't called to let them know that you'd woken up when you hadn't," he informed her. "They were worried about you."

"Thank you," she told him as she once again felt Usagi start to stir within her mind. She watched as he closed the door behind him before closing her eyes and leaning back against the pillows she'd slept on.

----------

As Usagi woke, she noticed that she was being watched by the princess whose mind she shared.

"Daijobu?" questioned Serenity.

Usagi sighed and shrugged, not wanting to answer, causing the princess to frown.

"You're friends are worried about you, and Mamoru is wanting you to wake up," Serenity said simply.

"So they can have me hand in my broach as punishment for turning against them the way I did," Usagi replied simply.

"No… They have been worried about you. They stopped me from using the crystal because they didn't want to lose you, Usagi. You're friends love you…" Serenity stopped for a moment to think about whether or not she should tell Usagi what Mamoru had said. "I- I wanted him to tell you this himself, but Mamoru loves you, Usagi. He told me himself that he wants you to come back to him. He cares more for you than you realize."

"Only because-"

"No, he told me that he may have been looking for me, but he truly loves you. He said it himself. If you do not believe me, then look into my mind and see what he has told me," Serenity stated emphatically.

"H-How do I do that?" Usagi asked as she looked at Serenity curiously.

"The decision is yours, but there is only one way, and it is quite permanent. The way to see what I have seen is to allow yourself to become the princess completely, which you would have done eventually anyways," explained the princess. "It will take a small bit of energy and the use of the crystal, but it would work. I know it would."

"You mean I'd remember everything that you know, and you would know everything that I know?"

Serenity nodded and held out her hand with the crystal in it. "As I said, the choice is yours. All you have to do is take my hand, and we'll become one."

Usagi looked at the princess and then at the crystal, thinking. "I… I don't… Are you sure that it is smart for us to become one? What if the Dark Kingdom captures me, us again?"

"The senshi will not let that happen. Besides as I recall, all four of the shitennou are dead. Kunzite was the most powerful, meaning that the only person who could come after us now is Beryl, and there has to be a reason as to why she hasn't come to Earth. I think that it is safe to say that we are not going to be captured by the Dark Kingdom again.'

Looking down, Usagi thought for a moment before nodding. "I'm ready.'

Serenity smiled and head out her hand for the other blonde to take.

-----------

"I'll tell her, Rei-chan," said Mamoru. "I just hope that Usagi-chan is all right. According to what the princess said, she is being very hard on her self."

"I'm sure that Usagi-chan will be fine. I mean she is Usagi-chan after all," replied the miko as Mamoru heard the door to his room open.

"I've got to go. I'll speak to you later, Rei-chan," Mamoru said before turning to see the blonde looking around at her surroundings. "I thought I said that I would come and get you."

"You did, but I just wanted to see what your place looked like before I got distracted," replied the blonde as she kept her gaze lowered, though Mamoru still noticed a minor difference in her behavior.

"Usagi-chan?" he said softly as he walked up to her. She didn't look up at him until he lifted his hand to her chin and made her look at him. When he saw her face he blinked in confusion. There were the blue eyes of Usagi, but on her brow was the mark of the princess he had dreamed of so often. "H-how?"

"The princess gave me the option of becoming one with her, and I agreed," she said, making it sound like she'd been choosing which shirt she was going to wear.

"What does that mean exactly?"

"I- I remember everything, but I'm still Usagi," she told him. "I know everything that the princess did, but I still feel everything I did before I became one with the princess." As she spoke her hand reached out to touch Mamoru's hand before drifting up and gently resting against the side of his face. She smiled softly as he lightly kissed her palm. "I also remember everything that you told her when she was in control, and… I love you, too, Mamoru."

He smiled down at her before a playful look entered his eyes. "What happened to Mamo-chan?" he asked, causing her to turn bright red.

"But… I… I called you th-"

"I know that it was during your time in the service of the Dark Kingdom that you called me that, but I liked it. What can I say, _Usako_? I love you, and the names that you have for me, aside from jerk or Mamo-baka."

Usagi was as red as a tomato, but never removed her gaze from his face once he uttered his own pet name for her. "I-I… I don't know what to say…' she admitted.

"You don't have to say anything. Just knowing that you came back is good enough for me," he told her before leaning his head down and kissing her softly.

--------------

Whoo! One more chapter and this fic will be finished. I hope everyone has enjoyed it, and I promise that I will have the final chapter out ASAP. I'm considering doing a sequal, but… I'm not sure. Depends on how happy I am with my ending in the next chapter.

And for those of you waiting on the next chapter of Sanctuary, that'll be coming along shortly. I've already started it, and I am actually about half way through with chapter four. I'll have that posted soon as well.

Until then.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: A Simple Knock

Author: Maetel

Email: M 15+

Summary: Once again, I am back to no summaries. I suck at summarizing so meh.

Chapters: 16/16

Status: Complete

Year Completed: 2005

After eating a small dinner of chicken, pasta, and cookies, Usagi and Mamoru simply sat on his couch, talking quietly to each other, their hands clasped on Usagi's stomach as she leaned back against his chest.

The two were close to falling asleep in their position until they heard a rapid knock on his apartment door. Mamoru's face immediately let Usagi know that he didn't know who could be at the door when she turned to ask. She blink and watched as he went to answer the door, only to hear him call out in surprise a moment later.

She blinked and looked around for her broach which she had left on Mamoru's nightstand. She braced herself for some sort of attack, but nothing could have prepared her for the triple team glomp that had come from Makoto, Rei, and even timid little Ami. She laughed, and called out. "Guys, I love seeing that you missed me, but I've got to breathe!"

The three laughed and quickly took seats on Mamoru's couch.

Rei was the first to speak once they were all settled, with the newest blonde taking a seat in a nearby chair, leaving Mamoru to lean against the door frame watching the girls. "How are you feeling, Usagi-chan?"

"Nice time to be asking that after getting tackled, but I'm fine, Rei-chan," she answered, sticking her tongue out at the miko.

"Then I am guessing that you feel like meeting the newest senshi to join us," said Ami as she looked over at Minako, who was looking almost nervous.

"You must be Sailor Venus," said Usagi. "Um…. Mind if I ask-"

"Aino Minako," said the blonde before Usagi had a chance to finish her question.

"Wow… You knew what I was going to ask before I even asked it," said Usagi. "I'm Tsukino Usagi, and I've got to say that I love that bow in your hair. It's so pretty."

Minako felt herself relax as the blonde spoke and couldn't help joking. "It'd better be. I am the senshi of love and beauty you know."

"Oh lord… We've got two Usagis now don't we?" said Rei in playful mockery.

"Better than having two pyros," retorted Usagi as she noticed Ami taking her minicomputer from her subspace pocket. "Whacha up to, Ami-chan?"

"I just want to run a quick scan of you to make sure that you're really all right. To make sure that there aren't any negative side effects of what has happened over the past few days. You don't mind, do you Usagi-chan?" questioned the blue haired girl.

Usagi shook her head and smiled. "Better safe than sorry right?"

"That's the spirit, Usagi-chan," said Makoto. "Besides, you wanna be sure that you will fully be able to enjoy the dinner I am planning on making when you are fully recovered."

"You're going to be making dinner!" squealed Usagi as she looked at the brunette with stars in her eyes, causing the Amazonian girl to laugh, and nod nonetheless.

"Of course. You deserve it after all that you've been through," Makoto told her.

"Arigato, Mako-chan!" exclaimed the blonde as she tackled the brunette.

Mamoru watched the scene and laughed at the girl's behavior. He was glad to see that she hadn't been too badly affected by everything that had taken place, or the merge with the princess.

Usagi looked to Mamoru with a smile on her face. "Do you have any cookies?" she asked innocently.

He raised an eyebrow at her question. "I had almost forgotten about your appetite," he said simply.

"What?" she asked, confusion clear on her face. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, Just glad to see that you're back to normal," he told her before turning to head into the kitchen. "I'll go see about those cookies… Usako."

The four girls turned their full attention on the blonde when they heard the pet name.

"Usako? Since when have you and Mamoru-san been so close?" questioned Ami as she watched the blonde's face turn bright red under the gaze of the four of them.

"Yeah, Odango, what haven't you been telling us?" inquired Rei.

"I thought you two couldn't stand each other. I should have guessed that there was something going on between you two," teased Makoto.

"Mako-chan! Rei-chan! Ami-chan!" exclaimed Usagi as she grabbed a throw pillow and hid her crimson face behind it, all the while hearing Mamoru laughing in the kitchen before he walked back into the room with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Having fun girls?" he asked.

"Mamo-chan, I am going to get you for this!" Usagi all but shrieked.

"Mamo-chan?" said Minako as she looked to Mamoru, whose cheeks grew lightly colored. "I've gotta say, it is a kinda cute nickname."

He cleared his throat and looked to the others on the couch. "And just how are you planning on getting even with me for this?"

She glared at him over the pillow and an evil glint came to her eyes. "You are not going to touch me in any way for two weeks, and if these girls want any of their questions answered, then I suggest they make sure that you don't."

The four girls blinked and immediately stood in front of the blonde, making Mamoru realize that he was out of his league.

"That's just being cruel to yourself. Especially since we all know that you are the one who is constantly crashing into me," Mamoru retorted.

"Want to go for two months instead of weeks?" Usagi threatened with a raised eyebrow. "I can always wake up earlier to get to school without having to run."

Mamoru blinked and gulped when he realized that she was serious. "I apologize."

"Good," said Usagi with a triumphant little smirk on her face. "And because of that, you aren't touching me for a week!"

Mamoru groaned, though the noise was drowned out by the giggles of the four senshi. "You can be cruel when you want to be," he told her.

"I know," she said simply. "I mean I did learn from you and Rei-chan."

"Hey!" snapped the miko. "I never taught you that. Though I have to say that I am impressed. You are coming along faster than I expected Odango."

"Arigato, Pyro," said Usagi. "And you aren't getting your answer until the end of the week."

"That's not fair!" said Rei only to get Usagi's tongue stuck out at her in response. "Brat…"

Makoto listened to the two banter and whispered to Ami, "Do you think those two could be any more immature?"

Ami simply shook her head and looked to Minako. "Are you sure you're ready for this much insanity?"

Minako simply giggled and nodded. "No worse than me and Artemis."

"Oh, dear. We really do have another Usagi on our hands," laughed Makoto.

"Speaking of that cat, are he and Luna done modifying the memories of Usagi's family? We need to know how much time we have before we need to get her home," said Ami.

"They said they would come here when they were done, didn't they?" questioned Makoto as she watched Usagi and Rei get dragged into another of their infamous tongue wars.

"Yeah, so I'm guessing we have another twenty minutes before they arrive," Ami said. "Think we should let Usagi know?"

"Nah, not right now. Let her and Rei drive each other insane for a bit," said Makoto as she walked up to Mamoru and took one of the cookies off of the plate as he watched the two argue. "Welcome to the group," she said simply.

"Thanks…"

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The End!

I hope everyone enjoyed this fic. I can't believe that it's finished. I'm kinda saddened. Anyways, many thanks to those out there who commented on this fic. This chapter was dedicated to all of you!


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